Unwavering Commitment (Persona 3 Fanfic)
by AriArisu
Summary: When Minako Arisato awoke, she found herself two years into the future? Something else is also weird. She wasn't the one SEES knows. SEES said that they knew MINATO Arisato not MINAKO Arisato. She's convinced that she came from an alternate universe but she also said that she defeated Nyx and knew what happened after. What can/will she do? *Might contain reverse harem(?)*
1. The Birth of an Awakening

DISCLAIMER:

The Persona series is not mine.

The picture that I use for the cover is not mine either.

All credits go to their respectful owners.

This story is purely of the author's mind. The chances that there are some things in the story that are the same with what you know are coincidental.

Please enjoy this series that I've worked hard to make it happen.

Happy Reading~ :3

"Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter." I could hear the voice of a rickety old man.

As the surroundings became clearer, I could see a room covered in blue velvet. The room appears more likely as an elevator that's ascending endlessly.

In the middle, there is but a blue table and chair which looks as if they're made out of the velvet of the same color.

On the chair sits someone who looks like an old man and beside him is what looks like a man wearing the same color as the interior of the room.

"I am Igor and this is my assistant." The old man smiles.

The man also smiles and gives a light bow.

"My name is Theodore. Most refer to me as Theo. A pleasure." He says in a calm manner and continues to stand upright.

Theo looks as though he has natural white hair that seems to be tidied up. He also has bright yellow eyes, similar to a cat's.

Theo also wears a blue cap that looks as if it's a flight attendant's or a bellboy's. He is wearing a formal suit with a mix of black and blue with white gloves holding a somewhat ancient looking book.

"It seems as though you've twisted your faith. Well... with the help of a certain person, mind you." Igor laughs.

"Fate itself cannot be avoided. Though you have changed it, this is merely an intervention of a certain individual." Somehow, it feels as if Igor said those words with menace.

"I see that time is passing quite quickly. I'm afraid that that is all the time we have left for now. Do awaken and live through your new fate. Till we meet again." Igor chuckles and the surroundings slowly faded away to black.

It was a bright and sunny afternoon! It's almost 6 o'clock though...

I was at the usual Iwatodai dorm on a usual Sunday day off from school.

I was laying on one of the long and brown couches in the center of the lounge, watching tv stated at the front of the couches where anyone could see clearly.

I just woke up from somewhat a really long nap.

"I wonder why no one's at home yet..." I ponder, feeling a bit disappointed...

The whole dormitory is quiet and the only sound emanating from this whole floor is the television.

On a hot summer such as this, Mitsuru-san would be reading one of her fairly difficult books just like Fuuka-chan.

Junpei would constantly complain about how hot the weather is while eating a melting popsicle and Yukari-chan would be telling him off that if he didn't talk as much then he wouldn't feel even hotter.

Sanada-senpai would be all about training, no matter what weather.

Koro-chan would just lie down on the carpeted floor to cool off and feel less hot.

Ken-kun would be reading his weekly magazines featuring the Phoenix Ranger Featherman.

I let out a slight laugh.

Ken-kun always tries to act all adult like and I wish that he could at least enjoy his life at a slow pace.

"Hah..." it feels so empty here...

Just as I thought to myself that, I heard the door creak open so I immediately stood up and ran towards the front door to see who it was.

Upon entering, I saw a man together with Koro-chan.

He looked up at the scenery of the whole room and announced:"We're home!"

It didn't seem like he saw me since I was just beside the door, not at the front.

"Haha. Not like anyone is here. Right, Koromaru?" He crouched down to pet Koromaru, laughing at himself.

'Not like anyone is here'?

"Umm... W-welcome back?" I say in an unsure tone.

To my surprise, he turned around and saw me, looking quite shocked too.

Who is this man? I wonder towards myself.

He had hazelnut hair that's almost reaching his shoulders. He's also wearing our Gekkoukan middle school uniform with a white belt attached. He also seems to have a yellow arm band that says:Student Council.

A friend of Mitsuru-san, I guess?

Weird though, I've been to the student council and I've never seen this person before...

"Umm... Who are you?" I ask cautiously.

Koro-chan suddenly pounced on me, licking me over and over.

"Ahahahaha! Stop it, Koro chan!" I laugh, trying to playfully push him away,.

"H-hey! Koromaru! Quit that!" He immediately pulled Koro-chan away from me and glared at me quite fiercely.

"I should be the one asking who you are! What are you doing here?" He looked quite angry.

I somehow became heated up.

"I live here! What are you talking about?" I retaliate and he looked confused.

"No one lives here anymore except Koromaru and I!" He immediately came back with a say.

"Huh? That's not possible. Mitsuru-san, Junpei, Aegis, Fuuka-chan, Sanada-senpai, Yukari-chan, Koro chan and Ken-kun also live in this dorm." My voice softened, thinking back on what he said.

"I'm Ken... Mitsuru-san and the others already left this place..." the confusion in his eyes never left him.

"Ken?! As in, Amada Ken? That's not possible! Ken-kun is cute and young. He's 11 years old." I say.

The two of us became more and more confused.

"Lets sit down first." He sighs, and takes a seat on the couch.

I follow his lead and take a seat on the couch opposite of him.

Koro-chan stayed beside this self proclaimed 'Ken' guy, smiling.

"First of all, may I ask for your name?" He looked at me from top to bottom with a suspicious gaze.

"I'm Minako Arisato..." I mumble.

"M-Minako? Arisato?" He repeats, dumbfounded.

"That's right." I smile quite weirdly.

"Do you have any particular relation with Minato Arisato?!" He stood up frantically, staring at me with eyes giving off a strong sense of expectation.

"M-Minato... Arisato... My...brother?" I answer in a question.

"But that's impossible! Minato-san isn't here anymore and his relatives are dead!" He screamed at me and I flinched in fear.

"Ah, sorry..." He sat back down slowly.

"But how are you here...? Could you please tell me everything that you know about this dorm...?" He stared at me with pleading eyes.

Somehow, I couldn't say no and answered.

He might also know about some things.

I told him about how I transferred to Gekkoukan High school and how I lived at Iwatodai dorm. Finding out about the shadows and unleashing personas. Aragaki-senpai being in a coma... Exterminating all the 12 shadows and awakening Nyx and triggering The Fall. I remember that we were able to defeat Nyx and stop The Fall from occurring and graduated. That's about all that I could remember.

"No way..." He muttered, eyes wide.

"We did all those things with MINATO Arisato. What's happening here... This couldn't be a mere coincidence..." He looked as if he was talking to himself and so I spoke up.

"You too... You say that you're Ken-kun. You look a lot like him, I admit but how could Ken-kun be older and taller than I know he is?" I became confused.

I tried to create and think of various reasons but there wasn't one reason that was appropriate enough.

"Minako-san, I'll tell you. About where your memory ended, what date was it?" Instead of telling me what I needed to know, he asked me another question.

If I answer him, then he could tell me what I want to know faster, right?

"If I could remember... It's March 5, which is... today. Haha." I laugh at myself.

"That's not right. Where your memory stopped is from March 5, two years ago. And also, Minato-san is..." I could hear Ken say something but it was too soft that I wasn't able to find out what it is.

"So you're... Ken-kun of two years from now?" I ask, cocking my head.

"I'm the present Ken... Minako-san, if you were indeed with us, then why are you here...? Could you have come from the past as an alternate Minato-san?" He nods to himself. He looks as though that his conclusion is right.

"In a world like this, I guess that even something like people coming from the past or another universe wouldn't be impossible." I smiled but he wasn't amused.

"Your room is...?" He asks, petting Koro-chan.

"3rd floor, last room. The girl's floor, of course." I smiled.

"That room wasn't inhabited before though." Ken-kun looks as if he has a lot of questions in his head. I guess I can't blame him. Even I'm feeling that way.

"Hmm... In my memory, the room that wasn't inhabited was the last room of the second floor." I try to find more information that I could give him so we could solve this issue.

"At least that part makes a little bit more sense... How old are you?" It seems as though he still has a lot of questions.

"Umm... I think that everything that you know about Minato is the same as me except gender and stuff like that..." I felt a little bit embarrassed for some reason.

"But you sure have grown, Ken-kun!" I grin. "Do you still love the Phoenix Rangers?" I added.

"What?! I never liked something as childish as that..." He blushed.

I stood up and went to the kitchen.

"Hey! What are you doing?" He stood up and followed me to the kitchen.

I took a cup and some jars of sugar and coffee powder.

"You just got here so I thought that you might be thirsty." I say, smiling as I take a 1/4 tablespoon of coffee powder and put it into the cup.

"How do you like your coffee, Ken-kun?" I ask, pouring hot water in the cup.

"B-black please..." He was hesitant on his answer.

"Oops. I'm so clumsy! I accidentally poured sugar and milk in it." I laugh, pouring milk and sugar 'accidentally' into the cup. After that, I stirred the coffee and gave it to Ken-kun.

"I always do this to Ken-kun." I chuckle. "I'm pretty sure Minato also did this to you. It's all thanks to him that you've grown this much." I add.

"Aren't you confused about this, Minako-san?" He looked worried but he still drank the coffee I gave him which made me smile.

"There's no point in worrying if I can't remember or find out the reason, right? It's much better to look forward and live life in the moment." I stare at him with happiness.

"I guess..." his expression never changed and he silently drank the coffee.

"Hahaha. It's funny how you've changed so much in just two years. I'm not sure of what happened but I guess that I'll just take this. You grew a lot more handsome, Ken-kun! We're almost the same age too. Well, there's still a little bit of an age gap but it's close!" I laugh, blushing a bit.

"O-of course not! Thank you though..." That's what he said but he looks content about it.

"Have you eaten dinner? I'll cook dinner anyway. By the way, I'm guessing that Mitsuru-san and the others are in university? What are they doing and where are they now?" I ask while I prepare for dinner.

"Kirijo-senpai is now a university student along with Sanada-senpai who travels around the world to become stronger. Iori-senpai became a coach for a little baseball league. Takeba-senpai landed a role as the pink ranger for Phoenix Ranger Featherman Victory TV show. Aegis supports Kirijo-senpai in her tasks as the leader of the Shadow Operatives." He mumbles then heads to the stairs located at the far end of the lounge.

"I'm going to take a shower first. I'll come back though." He looked alarmed and I nodded with an "I'll stay here." response. He hurriedly went upstairs after hearing my response.

Koro-chan followed after him,leaving only me in the lounge.

I let out a heavy sigh.

I don't remember much and I can't worry other people...

I try to think of various things to understand my situation.

"Ah!" I exclaimed.

The Velvet Room.

I looked both left and right, front and back but... I don't see the door...

"Paulownia Mall!"

There's a narrow alley down in Paulownia Mall and that's where I always visit the Velvet Room for requests and such.

Upon my sudden idea, I immediately headed out through the front door and to Paulownia Mall.

Sorry Ken-kun, Koro-chan... I'll be back, alright?

Then something came to mind.

Why is it that I remember the Velvet Room yet I don't remember its denizens?

I thought of it as I ran through the busy streets.

After what seemed like a few minutes, I've arrived at Paulownia Mall.

It's as busy as always.

Nothing much has changed from what I know.

2 years you say...

The antique shop and arcade stated at the right looks as lively as always.

The coffee shop, club and police station at the left is as composed as it has always been.

The fountain in the middle is somehow familiar...

I suddenly snorted.

Somehow, I remember something nostalgic here.

I can't tell what it is but it's somewhat sad...

I then saw the alleyway beside the police station.

I slowly walked towards that place and peeked inside.

I didn't see anything but a dead end.

I sighed with disappointment.

I walked towards a bench near the fountain and sat down.

I hung my head and stared at the dirty cement floor.

"I have to be strong." I mutter to myself.

"Ain't no way I'm gonna give up so easily." Encouraging myself, I raised my head and stood up.

But I'm all alone now and there's no one here who knows me...

I sat back down.

Getting depressed then getting strong willed and then getting afraid again... I'm an idiot.

A small tear wells up on my eye.

I look back down and wipe the tear before it falls.

"Hah...Hah... Minako-san...?" I heard a tired voice and saw someone in front of me.

"Ken...-kun...?" When I looked up, I saw Ken-kun and Koro-chan sweating and panting endlessly. I stood up and took out a handkerchief and wiped Ken-kun's sweat.

"What's wrong? Are you two okay? You're sweating like a river." I say in worry.

"Hold on, I'll go buy some water." I turned to get some water but Ken-kun grabbed my wrist.

"Don't just run outside at night without telling me first! It's really dangerous, do you know that?! You fight shadows but humans are different! Even if we just met today, you are still a girl!" He shouts at me and I pat his head in response. He looked at me with confusion and I smiled.

"Thank you for worrying about me, Ken-kun but I am not a princess." My voice sounded colder than it normally is but it seems like Ken-kun didn't notice it because he was too focused on finding me, I think.

"Lets go back home for now. I really appreciated your concern. It made me somewhat happy." I smiled.

For a second, I did feel that someone needed me.

Ken-kun, Koro-chan and I went back to the dorms and I cooked some fried chicken with soup as a side dish. I also made a vegetable salad to balance the meal and gave Koro-chan some good 'ol dog food.

"Ken-kun, you like fried chicken, right? Tomorrow morning, I'll make an omelette!" I brightened up at that moment then thought of something.

"Wait... This is two years into the future right? For me anyway. So... Ah... hmm..." I sat down on the dining table beside Ken-kun.

"What's wrong?" He asked. He still has rice on the corner of his lip. Haha. I'm glad he didn't change so much.

I wiped the rice away with a tissue and smiled at him.

"I was just thinking... I should get into university for next month. Meanwhile, I'll get a part time job and try to solve all this mess. Ken-kun is in middle school, right? I could help you if you have homework, you know." I gave an encouraging smile.

"Ah, thank you very much, Minako-san. I appreciate your help." He smiled back at me.

"Also, there are still shadows lurking around. There aren't much missing people as before though." He mentions outta the blue.

"I see..." my voice softens at the thought.

"Oh, Ken-kun. How's middle school? I want to hear all about it. I remember how you try to be an adult and such. In this age, I guess you're already an adult. You're even taller than me actually. I remember when you told me that you love me and things like that in a sibling like manner." I chuckle and he blushed in response.

"Uhh... Well, I'm part of the soccer club and also the student council." He looked uncomfortable and stood up, thanking for the food.

"Woof!" Koro-chan barked signalling that he was also finished with his dog food.

I took the plate but he insisted that he'd wash them so Koro-chan and I just followed him.

"I see. Following in Mitsuru-san's footsteps?" I joke. "How're your grades? Great, I bet?" I smile.

He opens the faucet in the kitchen sink and washes the plates. "They're fine, I could say."

"I see, I see. Well then, make sure to take a nice long bath, okay? You got sweaty when you and Koro-chan were looking for me, right? Thanks again and I'm sorry for causing you confusion and trouble. I'll try to not get in the way and be of some help. Good night then." Not expecting an answer, I went to my room which I mentioned before.

I went inside and laid on my bed.

"See?" I tell myself.

"All my stuff is here so how...?" I open my closet and rummage my belongings and they're all here.

My room is clean and there's no dust like always.

If I check Minato's room, I might have an idea.

I open my door and head to the second floor.

If I could recall, Ken-kun said that his room was at the end at the right side.

I slowly head there and only to get hit by a door near my side.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed and rubbed my hurt shoulder on instinct.

"Oh! Minako-san, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you. What are you doing here?" Ken-kun just got out of the bath along with Koro-chan. The strands of his hair was still wet. Koro-chan's fur was the same.

"Nothing much. You two should dry up or you'll catch a cold!" I rant as I took Koro-chan's towel and wiped his fur.

I noticed that Koro-chan was wearing an orange vest.

"Ah... This is your vest, right? Seems like you've overgrown it." Talking to Ken-kun, I touch the fabric of the vest that Koro-chan is wearing with my free hand and noticing how rough and worn it has become.

"Ken-kun should also dry up. Well that's all. I'll be hitting the sack now. G'night." I waved goodbye and so did they. I went back upstairs and into my room with dissatisfaction.

I don't want them to suspect me or get worried.

This is my own problem and I have to fix it.

This is all still quite a shock to me knowing that I've gone into the future and all.

It all just seems so fanciful.

I still have some time to figure this out. I shouldn't hurry up too much.

I decided to give up for the day and call it a night.

A few hours passed when I fell asleep and I suddenly had an urge to wake up so I did.

When I awoke, I saw something familiar and different.

"This is... the Velvet Room." I looked around and saw no one but Theo.

Wait... The Velvet Room?!

-To be continued-

I was inspired to make this fanfic because I saw that SEES was all grown up in Persona Ultimax Arena and I was somehow afraid about what happened to Minako Arisato! D:

Like is she not coming back anymore? That's why I wanted to make a fanfic to show that she still exists in my heart and also exists in other's too. :)

So was chapter 1 good? How was it? Please tell me what you think and follow me if you want to get the latest updates of my stories. Please and thank you! XD

Next chapter will be out next week! :3

Thanks for reading!


	2. Fake Truth

"Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter." Theo smiled wickedly.

"My master has stepped out for a moment. I assume that he'll be back a while later." He added.

"Theo..." I mumble.

"Yes, milady?"

"Oh, no. Nothing. It's just... familiar? I guess." I thought to myself, not knowing that I said it out loud and that Theo had heard it too.

"Here in the Velvet Room, nothing happens without reason or meaning. So to say, it was predetermined for you to be here and my master to not be."

"I... see." I couldn't entirely grasp what he meant by that so I just looked around.

In the room, there were eight doors. Four doors on both sides. Each of them corresponds to a kind of style. Some doors looked European and some looked ancient. There were also doors covered by white cloth.

It's weird though. The doors are not connected to a ceiling nor a wall so where does they lead it to?

I looked back at Theo and asked."Umm... Theo, why am I here?"

"What ever do you mean? Being a bit more specific would be greatly appreciated, milady." It seems like he knows what I'm talking about but he wants me to just be blunt about it.

"This is 2 years into the future, right? Why am I here? Ken-kun said that there are still shadows? Didn't we defeat Nyx and stop The Fall? Why is this happening? Who's Minato?" My voice slowly grew louder and louder. Unable to control my anxiety, I just let it all out on Theo.

"I'm afraid that I cannot tell you. Here in the Velvet Room, we are forbidden to 'help' you out on your journey. We are only meant to 'assist'. He answered straightforwardly.

Somehow... He has a cold aura emanating around him or... Is it just my imagination?

"Ah... Are there requests that I have to fulfill?" I say.

I know that I've done different kinds of requests in the Velvet Room before. I know I have but it all seems so... mushy?

"Ah... Ryoji-kun too..." I sink to the floor.

I killed Ryoji-kun to save the world... I never really thought about it much since I was afraid. Will he... forgive me? Was I better off to die?

I don't understand. Where am I? Where do I belong?

"Please tell me... Where... Where am I..." I plead Theo but it was so soft that I feel that only I could hear it.

He kneels before me and hugs me tight.

Surprised, I only came up with his name. "Theo...dore...?"

"I'm sorry... Just a while longer. Please." His voice sounds tortured.

I didn't say anything more and he was just hugging me for how long.

"U-umm... Theo... I- I can't breathe." His grasp was getting tighter and tighter so I had to speak up.

He immediately released me and helped me up.

"Ah. I deeply apologize for my inadequate behavior. Do pay it no mind. The only thing that I could say is that the future you'll meet will be filled with happiness, sometimes there'll be deep problems but in the end... The final choice will be yours to make and will decide your fate. That is all." Theo smiled and took a look at the huge clock behind us.

I forgot about that clock. Even if it's big, I dunno why I couldn't remember it. Oh well.

"It seems that this is the end of our discussion for today. I hope to see you again. Till next time." He lightly bowed to me, smile unwavering.

Slowly and faintly, the scenery turned black and I awoke to a bright morning.

"Umm... Time...?" I checked my phone to see what the time was and surprisingly it's still early. "Six o'clock huh." It's early but I gotta wake up now.

I prepared myself up for the morning. Hair, shower, teeth, clothes, etc. I then headed down to prepare breakfast.

"Mmm... Omelette Rice! Even if it's summer, Ken-kun has student council work? Mitsuru-san went to student council meetings during summer. Oh, maybe Ken-kun also has soccer practice? I don't know but I'll still prepare him something."

I hope he leaves today so I can investigate my situation.

Come to think of it... Did the Dark Hour happen last night...?

The Dark Hour is a time hidden during midnight. That's when shadows appear and Gekkoukan High school turns into Tartarus. Tartarus is a tall building or structure where the shadows are bred and dwelled.

Huh... I don't know...

"Minako-san...?" Ken spoke up. I couldn't hear him and just dwelled in my thoughts.

"Minako-saaaan~" Ken whispered in my ear which surprised me.

"Wha?! What is it?!" I shout in surprise.

"You were spacing out. Also, you shouldn't leave your cooking unattended." He put a worried expression.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Anyway, Ken-kun, do you have something to do at school or something?" I asked, hoping he had plans.

"Yes, I do actually. I have soccer practice." He took a glass of water and went back to my side with Koro-chan.

"That's good. I already prepared you a lunch box." I say, giving Koro-chan a slice of a hotdog as a sign of a good morning.

"You didn't need to. I mean..." He mumbled to himself.

"Nope! I want to. I did it of my own accord. You don't have anything to do with it. I'll also pay for the ingredients I used so don't worry about it. I also have some ketchup. What do you want me to put on your Omelette Rice?" I smile, readying the ketchup on the Omelette Rice that I made.

"Eh? Umm..." He thought of something and whispered it to me.

I wrote on the Omelette Rice and served it.

"Thank you very much for the meal!" He smiled and dug into his food.

"No problem...You really love Omelette Rice, don't you?" I smiled in a strange manner.

"Hmm? I do. Why do you ask?" He said and he's already half done with his food!

"No reason." I don't think no one wouldn't be able to find out what his favorite was. Considering he wanted me to write 'Omelette Rice' on his Omelette Rice.

Koro-chan suddenly pat on my foot and gave me his leash."I'm going to take Koro-chan for a walk. I'll be back before you go." I headed out to the door when I got Ken's 'Okay' signal.

Koro-chan and I went to the nearby park that we always go to when I take him for a walk.

I sat on the nearby bench and petted Koro-chan.

"Koro-chan, do you believe that I'm... real? That I belong here...?" I sigh.

I then heard Koro-chan whimper and rub his head against my leg.

"I see." I pet him. "Thank you, Koro-chan. Sorry for being so down." I added.

He barked in joy and pulled the leash to make me stand up and move.

"Haha, Koro-chan, thanks a lot! I love you." I laugh and we played in the park for a long while.

I realized that it was already a little late so we hurried back to the dorm.

I ran to the front door only to get hit by someone. I had lost my balance and fell down.

"Oww! Sorry!" I immediately tried to stand up, assisted by Koro-chan.

"Oh, excuse me. I apologize as well." There was a familiar sounding voice that I know. Somehow, it's a faint nostalgia?

I looked up and saw a woman in blue. She had short and natural white hair. She had yellow eyes and a blue hat. She is wearing a knee length and sleeveless dress with a mix of black and blue with a tint of yellow.

She's also wearing black tights and blue gloves. She was wearing blue boots and she was holding an old book that's similar to Theo's.

A sister or twin maybe? No, that can't be right.

She isn't in the Velvet Room. After all, the Velvet Room is said to exist between dream and reality, mind and matter.

Unless it's possible for them to leave that room and travel into the real world?

"Hello?" The girl waved at me.

I realized that I got lost in my thoughts.

"Oh, sorry." I stood up.

I looked at Koro-chan and he seemed happy?

I guess she's not threatening or anything bad.

"I see that you are in confusion. I suggest that you take your mind off of your troubles and 'enjoy the moment' or so the humans say." The girl just looked at me with a blank expression.

"Are you a fortune teller or something?" I tilted my head to the side.

"Hmm. I guess that you could think of it that way. Anyway, please be patient with my brother. He is idiotic and plague. Wait... it's vague but I know that he wants to tell you something. My brother kept whining and pryin-crying and I got sick of it. That is all." She bowed to me and ran away.

"What?" I asked myself. What just happened?

Come to think of it, why was she in the dorm?

Koro-chan and I went back in.

"Ken-kun? We're back." I say.

"Ah, welcome back." He took his bag and was heading out.

"Did you bring your boxed lunch with you?" I took off Koro-chan's leash and he immediately went beside Ken.

"I did. Are you also going out today, Minako-san?" He put on his shoes and was about to head out.

"Hmm? Ah yeah, I want to see how Aragaki-senpai is doing." I smiled at him and his expression responded poorly.

"Ken-kun? What's wrong?" I suddenly got worried.

"Aragaki-san is... dead. I figured there was something weird on why you said he was in a coma. Your memories are mixed up, maybe? After all, the night that he took the bullet for me was the night he had lost his pulse." He looked down, unable to face my gaze.

"Uhh... I-I see, I see! Well there's nothing to worry about! The past is in the past after all! Maybe you're right! Anyway, you're gonna be late. Good luck!" I lightly pushed him outside the door and he quietly went out with Koro-chan with a 'We'll be going!' response.

I slammed the door shut and fell to my knees.

That's impossible...

He's alive. I know it.

I won't know until I check.

I went into Minato's room first to find some clues.

It's clean.

There's nothing here.

"Could it be..." the girl that I met before...?

I shake my head.

Now I gotta go to the hospital.

I took a train to get to the hospital faster. I looked out at the glistening sea.

I remember my first day in Gekkoukan when Yukari told me about how great it will feel to see this scenery everyday when going to school.

It brightened my mood up a bit but it was interrupted by the ringing of the doors signalling that it was my stop.

I got off the train and ran to the hospital.

I bumped into someone and just said "Sorry!". I don't have too much time to waste until Ken gets home.

I arrived at the hospital and just ran into the his room.

When I was at the front of the door, I made a stop and took a deep breath, trying to stop my panting.

I slowly turned the knob and peeked inside.

There was no one but an old man.

I then saw a nurse heading towards me so I called out to her.

"Excuse me! I wanted to ask if there was a man named Aragaki Shinjiro here?" I hands were starting to sweat as I awaited for her answer.

"Aragaki Shinjiro-san? Ah. Him. He woke up from a coma exactly 3 years ago. He has been discharged as healthy." She smiled, bowed to me and left.

All the nervousness in my body escaped so fast.

Just hearing those few words put my heart in complete ease.

Yet... Why did Ken say that he was dead...?

Three years ago? Maybe the nurse got the date wrong.

Also, where is Aragaki-senpai then? I'm pretty sure Sanada-senpai also doesn't know that he's alive.

Why don't they know?

A dozen questions keep filling my mind.

I should go somewhere first to clear my head. Get a piece of paper and a pen write all my thoughts on.

I got on the station and headed to Paulownia Mall.

When I got off, I proceeded to go to the cafe I always go to.

I always buy my pheromone coffee there. Silly as it may be, it was surprisingly effective that I already found myself listed as the #1 Gekkoukan High girl. Not like it mattered much to me. I even had several stalkers but Junpei saved me from them. Junpei and I actually bosom buddies even if he from Planet Moron.

Chagnal Cafe, was it? The name of the cafe, that is.

I don't really bother for the details and I just went inside and took a seat next to a window. I ordered a pheromone coffee and sat down.

"Let's see..." I held out a pen and notebook that I bought earlier at a nearby General store.

I wrote all of what's happened.

My memories, Nyx, what Theo and Ken said also came to mind.

My pen had already written more than what my mind wanted to.

So far, my list had looked like this:

Minako's clue list: :3

Aragaki=alive (said to be dead), location unknown

Mysterious woman in blue= Theo's sister?

Alternate universe?

Minato Arisato= brother?

Two years into future...?

SEES

Velvet Room, 4 doors, elevator

Dark Hour= still happening

March 5= day I found out

Get part time job

University

Search for: (do later)

Shadow Operatives

Yukari

Fuuka

Akihiko

Junpei

Mitsuru

Aegis

~Talk:

Maiko

Bunkichi & Mitsuko

Odagiri

~Later: (If possible)

Tanaka

Bebe

Saori

~Visit:

Akinari Kamiki

...And that was that.

I'm not entirely surprised at the outcome that it doesn't make any sense.

I should search for more clues but no matter where I went to today, nothing seemed...odd.

How could the dark hour still be existing if Nyx was defeated?

I sigh a heavy one. As heavy as the world.

I slap both my cheeks and smile. I took the pheromone coffee in one gulp and ran outside.

Lets see... First, let's head to Bookworms, the bookstore where Bunkichi and Mitsuko are.

I took the train to Port Island station and headed to the bookstore.

I should really balance my money though. Finish things one place at a time. If I go to one place to another, I'll be losing money fast.

I looked at the store's window and saw Bunkichi resting on a chair and Mitsuko dusting the shelves.

I'm so glad that they're still healthy.

I hurriedly went in and said:"Hello?"

Mitsuko looked at me with a surprised face. Almost as if she had a heart attack. She walked towards Bunkichi and forced him to wake up and wake up, he did.

"Huh?! What?! What is it?!" Bunkichi was surprised when he stood up and saw me. Bunkichi and Mitsuko turned to look at each other and almost ran towards me. They paused for a few seconds, only staring at me then looking at each other over and over.

Finally, Mitsuko spoke up.

"M-Minako...-chan...?" With just those words that she said, my feet were plastered to the floor. Somehow or another, I felt like I had meaning in this world again. This could be a big clue in my existence here.

"Mitsuko obaa-chan?" I mutter in happiness and doubt.

I hugged her tightly in my arms and she responded with a light pat on my back.

"Minako-chan..." Bunkichi's voice was stammering.

"Hello." I smiled a felicitous smile and also hugged him.

It feels as though we've been hugging for aeons. There are so many questions. 'How are you? What happened? How do you know me?' We had to go into the interior of the bookstore in order to not perturb the incoming customers.

Mitsuko remained at the front to look after the store while Bunkichi and I sat down inside a small break room.

We first initiated the conversation by talking about inconsequential topics but then I found the need to hasten the situation so I raised my voice louder than normal in order to catch his attention.

I finally ask:"Bunkichi oji-san! I... What do you know about me? You seem anxious like... You want to ask something but you're afraid to." In a dithery manner.

"Minako-chan... I'm not sure if I'm hallucinating because of my old age but...you died three years ago."

"Wh-what...?"

I... died...?

How? Why?

I have to remain calm."H-Hold on. Why and how did I die...?"

"After you graduated... you just... died. I didn't hear the reason." He looked mournful. I smiled and pat his back.

"Aww, c'mon! I'm right here, hehe! I'm alive and well, as you can see!" I pump my fist. "Anyway, Bunkichi oji-san, are you sure that it was three years ago? Not two?"

"Of course! How could you ever think I'd mess up your death?!"

"Aaah~ So sorry! I won't be back for some time and... I'm sorry... I can't explain but please pretend that you never saw me. I'm sorry." I lowered my head and I was greeted with a painful slap to the back.

"You probably have your own circumstances, don't you? It's fine if you don't tell us. God, you gave us such a heart attack! I thought we were dying and you were taking us with you! I'm so glad... Glad to see you alive." He hugged me tight.

After that, Bunkichi and I talked about a lot of things followed by Mitsuko. It felt like time had stopped but I had to be going. We exchanged a goodbye and I left.

3 years ago I died huh.

If what they said is true then I best go in disguise when I investigate. Dying three years ago in this world... What did Ken mean then? I doubt that he would lie. Bunkichi and Mitsuko are honest to good people. I doubt that they'd also lie. Their testimonies completely contradict with each other. There is something missing though.

Out of instinct, I take a look at my watch and realize that it's already late. I took a short stop to Wild Duck Burger and took a seat, proceeding to updating my clue list. Damn it, I forgot to apply for a part time job.

I guess it can't be helped. There were things that I couldn't avoid. I'm so glad that Bunkichi and Mitsuko seemed a little calm when they saw me. Kinda weird though. They always overreact. Haha.

I smile and started to get drowsy. I must have over exerted myself today. Before I realized it, I had fallen asleep.

"Aah... Velvet Room again..." I was standing in front of Theo and Igor.

Igor was calmly making a house of cards. Realizing my presence, his eyes focused on me."You're getting closer and closer to the truth I see but that would indeed be too simple. In fact,You will be met with an ordeal later tonight, so best be prepared. There are still a ways to go. Also, do take account into everything that you have encountered, no matter how small the detail. I believe it would greatly abet your situation. Till next time."

I wasn't able to speak up and everything went to black. Dang it! I wasn't able to ask.

What in the world is that ordeal?!

-To be continued-

Chapter 2 done! I'm having a really difficult time in finding an ending. -u- I have the ending but I can't process it in my mind on how to lead it the ending. Ugh. :3

In order to make the story, I have to think of the ending first. I wonder if people also think that way. –u-

Also, someone asked if the P4 cast will be there so I came to answer that. Yes, they will be there. :3 I'm also thinking about putting Zen & Rei(from Persona Q) there. I have to finish the game first since I still don't know their stories yet so it depends. I don't really like making stuff up without knowing their stories first. I'm trying to make a story where it will still connect or not affect the future and past Persona games. I'm sorry for the slow update though!

Please be patient with my story and please leave a favorite and a comment to tell me what you think.

Thank you for reading it! :3

I'll just drop a quick question though. Who do you like better? Shinjiro or Ryoji~? ;3


	3. The Harrowing Ordeal

"Mmm..." I mumble.

"Minako-san?" Someone was shaking my arm and I growl in response.

"Minako-san!" The person raised his voice and I woke up with a "Sorry!"

Ah... It's Ken... Why's he here...?

Still drowsy from just waking up, I could only manage to stare at Ken as my eyesight tries to become clearer. My eyes went down to see Koro-chan furrowing his eyebrows. Is he angry at me...?

"Honestly, Minako-san! You went out by yourself last night and now you're sleeping defenselessly in a fast food restaurant!" Ken was pointing towards me with Koro-chan barking.

Ken is a nag... but somehow I feel guilty.

"I... I'm sorry..." I mumble, sitting straight up.

"And you're supposed to be an adult!" He sighs and I keep on apologizing to both him and Koro-chan.

Ken turned a little bratty, to be honest.

"What if someone stole your stuff?"

"T-that!... I'm so very sorry. Please forgive me."

"As long as you understand." His eyes started to dart to my paper and I immediately covered it up.

"D-don't mind that! It's just my grocery list. I'm also looking for a part time job so yeah. I-it's embarrassing." My voice continues to tone down.

"Okay, I guess. Also, Minako-san, do you want to eat dinner here?" Ken just heads towards the counter to order when he saw my unsure nod.

Koro-chan jumped and sat beside me, still giving me an angry face.

"Koro-chan, I'm... sorry." I pet him and he barked happily.

"Thank you for forgiving me." I smile.

I took my notebook and pen and shoved them in my pocket. "Do you and Ken-kun always eat out like this? One bark for yes, two barks for no and a pat on my palm if sometimes."

Koro-chan responded by placing his paw on my palm. I couldn't resist his cute and smart gesture and hugged him! So cute!

"I remember. I gotta go talk to Ken-kun about this." My expression had suddenly turned sour and Koro-chan whined. I nuzzle his nose with mine and tell him that it's alright.

Ken came back just after and placed the food tray on our table then sat in the opposite direction.

He hands me a chicken burger and I take it with hesitation. He tell me that it's fine since its his treat and I laugh.

"I was the one who would always treat Ken-kun out for dinner and you would always try to force yourself to eat more than what you could manage. You looked really scared when I ate all those twenty burgers that I bought in fifteen minutes. Haha. I never thought that the day would come when you'd treat me food."

Ken being the easily embarrassed person, he blushes bright red.

"Enough about that!" He raised his voice and I giggle.

"Umm... Ken, may I ask... Are you sure that where my memory ended was two years ago?" I didn't dare meet his eyes and just bit into the burger.

"Yes, of course! See? The calend-Huh? Why is it 2015? It's supposed to be 2014." Ken's face looked troubled.

"I don't understand. That's not right at all. It's... what..." he grew silent.

"Also, I checked the hospital earlier. They said that Aragaki-senpai was discharged 3 years ago." I thought that what the nurse said was strange but having three people say the same thing and the date today being 2015...

"I don't... know." Ken mumbles to himself.

"Ken-kun, I'm sorry but please take me to where the Shadow Operatives are. You can also just tell me where they are and I'll go. So please." I'm so gung-ho about this... Even I know that. No one knows me, everything is messed up and it's dark and I don't understand anything at all. I already know that deep in my heart, I'm scared. Getting written off as less than nothing and getting forgotten. I've always tried to ignore these feelings but it's grasping my throat and making me unable to breathe.

Ken grew flustered. "Minako-san, please don't cry! I don't have club activities tomorrow so I'll take you! It only depends if Kirijo-san will accept..."

I hadn't realized that I was already crying. I was too scared to even feel that. Quick, I gotta-I gotta be all smiles.

"Re-reall..y?" Crap, my voice gave away.

"Yes, so please stop crying. Do you want me to give you something? Anything?"

"...Burgers." I mutter and his face came closer to hear what I said.

"Pardon?" he asked.

"19 more burgers!" I scream and everybody starts to stare at us!

"I want 19 more burgers!" I fling my arms around like a little kid and Ken drove us out the restaurant to the park where we always walk Koro-chan.

We take a sit on the swing and it looks like Ken is too troubled or too tired to speak. EIther way, I kinda had fun in my own way. Haha.

"Minako-san, please don't... Please stop that. You're supposed to be an adult..." He shot an unexplainable face to me.

"What does it matter? I'm still young and I choose to live my life to the silliest until I give my last breath." I grin.

"Reminds me of Minato-san..." Ken also smiles.

"Bark!" Koro-chan was growling at the two shadowy figures nearby.

I squint my eyes to see Bunkichi and Mitsuko. By reflex, I grab Ken and hide behind a nearby bush. We fall into the bush and he starts to struggle so I put my hand over his mouth.

"Don't speak, please." I whisper and he stops struggling.

I could hear Ken's heart beating faster. He's probably nervous or something? Anyway, I listen closely to their footsteps and hear them leaving slowly.

After I made sure that they were gone, I released Ken and we got out of the bush.

"Minako-san, seriously! Just what do you think you are doing?" he rubs the dirt and grass off his clothes and hair and takes Koro-chan's leash.

"Ahh, sorry, sorry! Surprise attack, you know! Haha!"

He sighs and looks at his watch. "It's already 10 o'clock so we should get home now."

"Okay!" I replied and we went home together.

As we walk home, I ponder to myself on why Bunkichi and Mitsuko were walking at this time of night.

'Also, do take account into everything that you have encountered, no matter how small the detail.' I suddenly remembered Igor's words. I wonder if that has anything to do with this.

When we arrived, we went our separate ways and did our separate things and went to sleep.

It was about 11 o'clock when I fell asleep. I kept on making different theories, writing them on different papers until I hadn't realized that I had fallen asleep.

In the middle of my sleep, I had felt the same sensation as I always do. 5 seconds. One second to feel the tick of the clock, another second to feel my body waking up. 3 seconds, my senses sharpen. 4 seconds, my pulse starts beating rapidly. The fifth second, the clock shatters and I wake up to my Hell where most people are 'dead'. The Dark Hour.

I sit up, rub my eyes and check my phone. Sure enough, it wasn't working.

'Minako-chan... Come here...'

"...?!" I was alarmed. I heard a voice ringing in my head. The ringing wouldn't stop no matter how much I try to stop it. I have to-...That's right... I need to... follow it. Go to it.

'That's right... Come here.'

My mind wasn't working. My body moved on its own, out of my room, down the stairs, to the outside.

My eyes felt blank and I couldn't feel anything. I only had one thing in mind and that was to reach the voice.

I looked ahead, seeing the bright moon and the dark green sky. Coffins were everywhere. Puddles and anybody of liquid were the color of blood.

A few minutes later, I've arrived at the place that I would never forget for my life.

"Tartarus..." I mumble, staring blankly at the eerie tower that ascends above the clouds.

I head inside without hesitation.

The first floor of Tartarus is bright. There aren't much things to note down except the huge staircase at the north. It extends upwards to a door. Around the door is a massive white clock.

'Minako-chan... Good girl. Over here.' The voice giggles.

I went inside Tartarus. I wasn't encountering any shadows and just kept going up each floor.

I then stopped to a wide space.

It was incredibly dark in this place. I couldn't see anything. Every step felt like I was getting engulfed by the darkness yet it didn't stop me. I had no control over my body.

I knew that I had to go to the other end of this floor. The voice is there...

'You're almost there... Come.' The voice whispered.

I merely saw a silhouette of darkness. Its arm extending out to me.

"Mitsuko... Obaa-chan..." I whisper as I see another silhouette. It's a silhouette of Bunkichi also extending his arm out to me.

'Come with us, Minako-chan...' they whisper.

I slowly lift my hands to place them on their shadowy palms only to get disrupted by a shout.

"MINAKO-SAN! DON'T! THOSE ARE SHADOWS!" Ken screams at the top of his lungs, running along with Koro-chan barking.

I came to my senses and saw Minako and Bunkichi... Their eyes were glowing... Their irises are a shocking golden color and... they were smiling.

Mitsuko dragged her hands out to me and before I could escape, she took hold of my neck, squeezing it painfully.

"?! Mitsu...ko... baa-cha-Hagh!" I couldn't breathe. Every word that I try to say feels like death is approaching. I grab her veiny hands and try to release her grip... It was no use.

"Minako-san!" Ken shouted from a distance.

"Don't move. If you do, we'll make her death faster." Bunkichi shouted as he brought out a knife.

"Why...?" I cry out, tears starting to fall from the pain I'm feeling.

"Fake...Die...Exter...minate..." Mitsuko's voice was broken but sure. She meant to say those words.

"Minako-chan is a good girl but you're a fake... Just... like... us." Bunkichi grinned wickedly. At that moment, chills went up my spine.

"Haah...Augh... I can't..." I give all my strength to release myself but it was in vain. My consciousness started to fade away and I couldn't help but think that I was already at Death's door.

"Minako-san!" Ken and Koro-chan were shouting and bark but I couldn't heare them.

Everything was black...

I found myself resting on cold hard ground. I don't feel the pain anymore...

I open my eyes and sit up.

"Velvet Room..." I stand up and take in the surroundings.

"Oh? There you are." The woman in blue was right in front of me. Why? Maybe she IS Theo's sister and it's possible to enter and leave this place as you please? I can't remember... Why didn't I know something like that-Ah!

I started to have a vision.

'Master Minako!'

'I wish that my dear friend Minako remains...'

'The dwellers of this world must get easily thirsty if they have a fountain in the middle of the plaza...Wait, it's not for drinking?! Ahem... It was only a small joke.'

'So good as to make one's cheeks fall off?! That would be dire indeed.'

'The stairs are moving...'

'I'm sorry...'

"Aaagh!" There was too much scenes passing through my mind. They were too fast that my head started to hurt.

"Th-Theo..." I look around.

"Looks like you've remembered. That was incredibly fast. Because of hatred and rejection, you chose to forget them. You tried to understand but in the end, you couldn't control the vain-cane? Plain...plane... Ah. Pain." The girl smiled.

"Who are you...?" I narrow my eyes at her.

"Ah, my apologies. My name is Elizabeth. I am a denizen of the Velvet Room or so I used to be." Elizabeth moved her fingers over the fabric of the table and walked towards me.

"I left the Velvet Room in a mission to free a guest from The Seal. The result was... a failure." She murmured.

"That is why... I've come here to undo my wrongdoings. First, I want you to establish a cattle... castle...Ah, Yes. A battle with me." She smiled and handed over a Naginata, a kind of pole weapon.

I hesitantly took hold of it and spun it around. Ahh... I miss this sensation. I don't get it but all I have to do is defeat her, right? I'm actually itching to beat someone up right now. Someone to release my confusion on.

"Also, there is no need for an Evoker any longer. We have decided to 'upgrade' you systems?" She cocked her head to the side.

So that means I can summon my Persona by will...

"Okay. I'm ready." I grin. I'm already forgetting the things that happened. I'm only trying to focus myself on this battle.

"Then let us start." She flipped her book open and started to cast a spell.

"Haaah!" I ran towards and hit her before she could manage to cast her spell. She managed to avoid it by jumping backwards.

When I looked at my front, she was gone. It was too late for me to realize that she was behind me. She made me float in midair and into her book. I felt as though I've been spun around over and over. When I was released, I felt panicked. I didn't know what to do and just kept hitting her.

"Haah...Hah...Haaah..." I was panting. The panic effect wore off and I gripped my Naginata.

"Tired already? Hahahahaha." Elizabeth was biased.

She kept hitting and hitting, faster and faster. The only thing I can do is to evade her. At this rate, I'll only grow tired. need to do something. Anything.

I only need one... One special attack and it'll be over. I walked backwards and concentrated on my Persona.

I felt myself glowing. An eerie blue light surrounds me and Elizabeth is shocked.

"Wh-What is this? What's happening?!" She looked panicked but I continued on.

"Orphe-No... Death! Megidolaon!" Something took over me. I had felt this feeling before... The first time I fought the shadows... At the rooftop with Yukari...

Everything was shining. I knew that it was a direct hit to Elizabeth. Smoke and dust were welling up the room.

After the smoke cleared up, I saw Elizabeth still standing, unscathed. What?! Why?!

"Seems like you're ready. What has happened to your worlds is my doing but I hope to see you emerge victorious. The fate of the two universes are in your hands. I bid you good luck." She smiled and walk away into the distance.

"Wait, what does that mean?! Waiittt!" I keep shouting but my voice doesn't reach her.

"Minako-san, Minako-san... Minako-san!" I hear someone call my name and I am jolted back to reality. I see Ken shaking my shoulders over and over again and Koro-chan patting my head with his paw.

"Ken-kun... Koro-chan..." I look at them and I feel something cold next to my hand. I take a look and see the Naginata that I used beside me.

It wasn't a dream...

I sat up only to feel a sharp pain in my throat.

"Oww!" I exclaimed. "Where... are we?" I look around the dark surroundings.

"After you fainted, I managed to hit them unconscious with enough time to take you with us and run. They might be awake by now though." Ken helps me stand up.

"Bunkichi jii-san and Mitsuko baa-chan! I have to help-" I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

Hold on, why were they trying to kill me? Were they getting possessed? I... I have to do something or they'll die...

"Ken-kun, Koro-chan... I can't explain but please. We gotta go back and see them again. Also, don't worry. I can fight." I look at them with complete determination and they couldn't help but agree.

Ken led the way and after a few short turns and trips, we made it to the place where we last saw them.

I looked closer and saw two figures crouching down, shaking.

"Bunkichi jii-san! Mitsuko baa-chan!"

At my shout, they lifted their heads up. I saw them crying.

"M-Minako-chan... Please help." Mitsuko pleaded. I couldn't help but feel sad. I found myself walking towards them.

"Minako-san, no! They're fakes!" Ken shouted and I stopped.

That's right. Fakes. They're fakes.

I put some distance between us and talked to them.

"Earlier, you were talking about how you-we were fakes... Do you mind explaining...?" Afraid of their answer, I closed my eyes tightly.

"Hahahaha..." they laughed and stood up.

"Yeah, we ARE fakes. The people that you used to know in these bodies are gone! The only one left in this shell is a plain shadow out to exterminate you." I saw their eyes glowing back to a golden yellow, laughing.

"Die!" At the wave of their hands, they called out their Personas.

No way?! Persona users?! I've never seen anything like this!

"Those are... It's just like what happened in Inaba!" Ken shouted.

"Minako-san, we have to defeat them immediately! They're not real, remember that!" Ken shouted and positioned his lance next to me.

"Arf!" Koro-chan went in front of me.

Are they protecting me?

...

They're right. It isn't the time to hesitate.

They're not real. Bunkichi and Mitsuko aren't these monsters.

"You're right." I steadied my Naginata and said the words that I felt that I haven't said in awhile.

"Persona!" In decisive voices, the three of us summoned our personas and fought the two.

We received and gave hits. All in all, the result was a supernova! We won!

Bunkichi and Mitsuko melted into black goo and dried up leaving no more traces of them.

In sheer exhaustion, I fainted without notice. I might have overused my Persona.

A day has passed since the fight and I felt myself against a warm bed. My conscience was awake but my body was dead tired. All I could do was hear voices.

"So this is the person. Is that right, Amada?" There was womanly voice from a distance.

"Yes, that's right, Mitsuru-san."

"You said that she's from 3 years in the past?" There was another voice; a deep one this time.

"Minako-chan, hah. Should I kiss her to wake her up? Ya know, the old fairytale kind of ending." A laid back tone of voice came near and a slap was heard.

"That's enough, Stupei. I thought you already have your 'Chidorita'." A girly voice answered.

"I see. I shall start my scanning." I could hear a robotic voice nearing me.

"No threat detected. It appears she does have the same genes as Minato-san." The voice reported.

"Is that so? Thank you, Aegis-chan." A kind sounding voice thanks the robotic one.

"It is no problem. It is merely part of my duty." The robotic voice replied.

"We already contacted the hospital that you mentioned. They did say that Aragaki was discharged 3 years ago. We're currently holding a search for him." The womanly voice answered.

Wait... Aragaki?

Hearing the name, I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

"I-is that true? You're really searching for Aragaki-senpai?!" I raised my voice but my vision was still blurry.

"Yeah. Damn Shinji. Hiding from us like that. When I see him, I'm gonna give him a beating." The deep voice spoke.

I turn to see who it was and I was shocked.

"S-S-S-S-..." my voice spammers and they people were in confusion.

"What?" The guy with the deep voice asked.

"SPARTAN!" I screamed.

"HAH?" The deep voices guy looked dumbfounded and everyone laughed.

"It's because you look like that, Sanada-san!" The laid back guy laughed.

"What? What's going on?" I look around and see people who look familiar.

"Ah, could the Spartan guy be Sanada-senpai?!" I screamed.

"Ah, yeah." He murmured.

It's because he wasn't wearing a top; only shredded pants and a torn cape. He has a six pack though. The numerous scars highlight his body. He's actually a hottie if I think about it.

"Hey, hey, Minako-chan, ya know me?" The laid back guy said. Why is he wearing a blue baseball uniform anyway?

"Ah... The stupid cap! Taipei! I mean Junpei!" I laughed.

"Stupid cap..." Junpei felt hurt and moved to a corner.

My eyes came across a woman with short and light brown hair, another woman who had light blue hair that's braided.

"Ah, Yukari-chan, Fuuka-chan! You two became prettier! You're so beautiful, the two of you!" I smiled and so did they.

"Thank you for that." They replied in chorus.

My eyes then darted to a woman with mechanic features.

"Aegis-chan! You haven't aged but you've become a lot prettier!" I grinned and left the bed.

"I am an anti-shadow weapon. I am not that familiar with things like beauty. I have recorded a situation similar to this though. Are you trying to: a. Pick me up, b. Bribe me or c. To initiate s-" Aegis was stopped by Junpei with a "Awawawawa!" Voice.

"...?" I wonder what Aegis was trying to say.

"Good afternoon, Arisato. We came here to see your relation with Minato Arisato and to why there shadows taking the form of humans again." The womanly voice from before came closer to me. She had long and curly maroon colored hair. She was wearing a tight black suit and a fur coat.

"Mitsuru-san? Is that you? Oh my gosh, can I take a picture of you?! You're drop dead gorgeous!" I went to shake her hand and she looked surprised.

"Ken-kun, Koro-chan, did you call them out here?" I look at him and smile.

"Ah... Yeah. It wasn't like I had done this on your request. Just that the event that happened last night was similar to what we had experienced before." He uttered.

"Oh yeah. Bunkichi jii-san and Mitsuko baa-chan! I have to- I gotta go to the bookstore!" I proceeded to run out the unknown room only to be greeted with a "Stop!" By Mitsuru.

"We have done an investigation on the two and the bookstore. The couple was indeed there but when we asked about their relationship with you, they testified that they only knew of Minato Arisato." Mitsuru looked at me, almost as if she's telling me to get back on the bed.

"What?! Why?! Just yesterday they were!" I shout in frustration. I finally found people who knew me but why? Why?!

"We're not sure either but that's what they said." Ken and Koro-chan looked devastated.

I could only manage to run away. Out the door and out the hallways.

I finally realized that this was the hospital where Aragaki-senpai was. I paid it no mind and kept running. Running from fear. Running from the frustration welling up. To the outside, to the streets...

I then hadn't realized that I bumped into someone. Somehow...This...was the same person I had bumped into yesterday. I wonder why didn't forget…

I slowly looked up to see the face of the person that I've met yet again.

"Aragaki-senpai?!" I shouted. The man wore a cloth cap and a maroon trench coat. He had greenish to brownish medium length hair.

"Arisato?" He said, looking awfully surprised.

There's no doubt about it. It was him.

"Arf!" Koro-chan barked. Did he follow me?

Tears started to well up and I hugged him in the midst of the rustling and bustling street.

I finally met him again. Should I be scared? Happy? Confused? Defensive or...?

What does it matter? He's right here and he's alive right in front of my eyes.

(Meanwhile...)

"Both the universes and time are in disarray. I would like for you and your friends to assist these people. Surely, you've met them before. Twice at most. Are you willing to do it? It will be a far greater task and burden from the ones that you're accustomed to." A woman was sitting on a couch of a blue limousine that's going through an unknown road filled with fog.

"Count me in." A young man with grayish hair said with a grin.

-To be continued-

Don't you just suddenly get that surge of energy when typing/ writing? That's why… Special service! Chapter 3 has been posted! If I have time, I might also type chapter 4 and publish it tomorrow. Oh but maybe I'll be playing P4AU or PQ tomorrow. Gotta think about that so don't expect anything! If I don't post anything tomorrow then I'll be posting it next week. w

And now, answering your questions time! :3

So HiKiKimori-san asked if your answers to my question from the chapter before would affect the story. So my answer is yes, it will. :3 I'm not sure on what I'll use them for but I figured to put Shinji first cause I miss him! :D So keep your eyes peeled for my questions and think about your answers carefully! Remember, every answer counts!

Also, if you sense the KenXMinako ship… Umm yeah, I just wanted to. They're now like just 2 years apart, you know? I don't want to pass up the chance and also the KenXMinako ship is nothing to worry about. It's not 'official' here… yet. :D

Also, the other question being my fanfic would last for about 20 chapters. It actually depends. If people continue to support it, I will continue it and make it last to more than or about 20 chapters. If not, well… I'll cut the story short. '3'

In short, the fate of this story rests in the hands of you, viewers. :3 I love interacting with people so I thought that I should do it like this! Too mean? You can tell me. –u-

So... I will be posting about 2-3 questions every chapter. One would be your opinion, another would be the one that would affect the story and the other would be the question that will not affect the story.

!The NOT-AFFECT-STORY question!

Which name would you prefer? Yu Narukami or Souji Seta? (BTW, they're the same person. –w-)

!The OPINION question!

A few things were revealed in this chapter. Do you already have certain theories or have you figured out an/the ending? I would love to hear you theories. I'll even answer a few of them. Of course, I won't be putting any spoilers. ;)

!The AFFECT-STORY question!

Do you like Theo? What have you ever thought about him?

And that's about it for the chapter questions!

As always, leave a favorite and a comment here!

How was this chapter? I would love to hear your opinion!

Have a nice day/afternoon/night! :3

Happy reading!


	4. Stopped Time

"Arisato, Koro-cha-Koromaru, let go of me." Aragaki tried to push us away but Koro-chan and I didn't back down.

"Kids these days. Shameless." People were talking loudly on purpose. I didn't mind them since they don't know my situation. They have no right to talk like that.

I suddenly heard footsteps toward us.

"Shinji!" Sanada shouted.

"Aki..." Aragaki stood tall, not moving or reacting.

Koro-chan and I released Aragaki and went to the side.

"Aragaki, seems like you have a lot of explaining to do. Come with us." Mitsuru walked towards Aragaki and Sanada.

I look at the three of them. It's awkward for sure. I just looked around the place. The people giving us stares, the white and puffy clouds, the road and to the ground where I'm standing..."Oh no, my feet are all bloody." I crouch down, looking at my blistered feet. I was too panicked to realize what happened.

Seriously, why am I an idiot. I've been getting more and more stupid lately. Getting nagged by older Ken and now...

This is gonna be bad. Mitsuru is also a huge nag. Aragaki is a huge worry wart. No doubt about it, I can already see myself pleading for mercy.

"Hah..." I sigh. I hate myself.

"Hey, the hell do you think you were doing?! You're bleeding inside out!" Aragaki lifted me up in his arms.

"Senpai, I can walk!" I fluster around as the others arrive.

"Shut up, you're hurt. How irresponsible can you be?" he mutters as he starts to walk.

"P-put me down!" I demanded.

"The girl that I've loved and lost came back to me, how can I put her down?!" He shouts and everyone around us became quiet. Ken, Mitsuru, Sanada, Yukari, the passerbys, everyone.

Aragaki and I remained silent as he brought me back to my hospital bed followed by the others. He somehow convinced the others to stay outside so Aragaki and I can talk.

He took as chair set at the corner, placed it in front of me and sat down.

"Aragaki-senpa-"

"I'm sorry." he whispered and looked down,

I never noticed how he aged a bit. It wasn't really 'that' noticeable though. He grew a little taller, I guess? He's still wearing the coat and cap that he used to wear from before.

"I know what happened..." he muttered.

"What do you mean?" I look up at his face and he gives me a sorrowful look as he disinfects my feet with the first aid kit on the desk beside him.

"The last day of your graduation... Your last day alive. I woke up from my coma and you told me that you wanted to spend your last day with me. I didn't understand what you meant by that. I thought you meant that as your last day as a highschooler. Hours later, I came to look for you after you said that you needed to go to the bathroom. I saw you sleeping on Aegis's lap from a distance... Only to find out that you died." He murmured.

"How... How? I'm alive and well. I don't ever remember dying." I started to sweat.

"That's what I want to know. At that time, you told me to promise you to graduate... so I did. I was angry when I found out you died before me. You had a lot more to live for than me..." He dragged his cap down to cover his eyes. He's crying.

"Senpai..." I whisper and hug him. "I miss you... A lot. You grew older since I last saw you..."

"It was 3 years ago after all." His voice shook.

"Hey! I don't mean ta' interrupt ya but ya mind answerin' our questions first?" I heard a voice from the door. The accent sounded a bit off but it was a girl with mechanic features just like Aegis. She had light blue hair and was wearing a knight's healm. Her body is of metal and she was wearing a white sweater. Who is she?

"Labrys, Read the mood! The mood!" Yukari shouted.

"The mood? What's that?" Labrys scratched her head.

"I believe it corresponds with the term 'love'. A human emotion wherein you feel nervous and want to do intimate things with your partner. A situation of 'reading the mood' similar to this would be when you enter a room wherein two people are having sexual contact with each other." Aegis said with a straight face to where Junpei reacted: "Hey, hey! Just where did you get that idea from?!"

"I saw it in Yukari-san's phone before. She had left it open on a site known as . I conclude that what she was reading is known as a fanfiction." Aegis replied.

"Hold-hold-hold on, wait! Why did you poke around with my phone?!" Yukari blushed bright red.

"Yuka-tan~ So you read those types of stories, heh?" Junpei whistled.

"It's none of your business, Stupei!" Yukari retaliated.

"Enough! We have no time for inconsequential arguments such as these!" Mitsuru spoke up and everyone went quiet. She then looked at Aragaki and me. "Your private affairs are of no matter to me. I just wish for the two of you to cooperate with our investigation."

Mitsuru was intimidating so we couldn't help but nod.

All of us exchanged informations and recieved shocking news from both parties.

"So let us get this straight. Arisato came from another universe along with Aragaki for some unknown reason which we'll be tackling at a later time. What I want to ask is to how the hospital that we asked knew about Aragaki. In this universe, Aragaki passed away in front of our own eyes." Mitsuru mentioned.

She's actually right. How could the nurse say that he was discharged 3 years ago when Ken said that he died 2 years ago? Also, in this universe, Aragaki died so...

"I don't know either." I answer. Why is that?

"Then we'll take a note of that. Also about the old couple... You say that they claimed you died 3 years ago without knowing the reason, just like what Aragaki had said. Then, shadows who look like the real couple showed up and you defeated it. And then the day after, they claim that they have no knowledge of you but of Minato Arisato. There are certainly multiple possibilities but I can't say for sure until I see something like this again with my own eyes." Mitsuru looked at me with her sharp eyes; looking at me as though I'm lying.

"Mitsuru-san, there is also this issue..." Ken spoke up. I think he did that to break the tension?

"Tartarus is back?!" everyone was surprised.

"Yes... I saw it two days ago and thought that maybe it was just my imagination. Then I went to check it again yesterday and that was when I saw Minako-san getting attacked by the shadows that take on human forms. Tartarus's first floor doesn't seem any different from before but the floors after weren't like the ones before. It was somehow nostalgic but extremely different." Ken said.

'To have shadows like that again... In a new Tartarus this time." Mitsuru murmured.

"I say we explore it later tonight!" Akihiko shouted, full of energy.

"Hold it, Aki. You haven't changed at all. You can't just barge in a place where there are shadows that you don't even know." Aragaki intervened.

"You're just scared, arent ya? Wuss." Akihiko sneered leading to Aragaki's irritation. "I ain't scared! Hell, I could beat the crap out of those shadows!"

"Why don't you prove it then?" Akihiko grinned and Aragaki scrunched his eyebrows. "Fine! You better not be crying when your ass gets whooped!"

"Are you two going to keep acting like children for the rest of your lives?" Mitsuru glared at the both of them and they sat down.

I can tell that Mitsuru is happy though. Hehe.

"Now then, Yamagishi, can you provide back up later? Exploring a place like that would be reckless without knowing what's ahead." Mitsuru said.

"O-Of course! I'll do what I can!" Fuuka smiled and Mitsuru thanked her.

"I'll join too! I don't have any activities in school tomorrow!" Ken spoke up with Koro-chan barking but Mitsuru rejected saying that it's far too dangerous.

"Then can we go, senpai?" Yukari and Junpei spoke and was yet again rejected saying that they had their own businesses to take care of such as their occupations. and career.

"Arisato (if healthy), Aragaki, Aegis, Labrys, Akihiko, Yamagishi and I will be heading in Tartarus, That's settled. We'll settle the other matters another time. Arisato, you may now resume the rest or your talk with Aragaki. Dismissed." After Mitsuru's words, everybody left; only leaving Aragaki, Sanada and I.

"Shinji, let's talk for a bit outside." Sanada's eyes darted to me and I smiled showing that it was okay. Noticing that, they both left, leaving me alone.

"Everyone is older and has aged. What about me? What happened to me? There is something wrong here..." I sigh.

"There is, isn't there?" Someone spoke up. A familiar voice.

"Elizabeth?" I see her leaning against a wall, eating takoyaki.

"I swear, this delicacy of your world heightens my interests no matter how many times I taste it. After all, putting 'that' kind of thing in this food is..." Her voice slowly fades.

"Elizabeth, why are you here?" I ask. Am I hallucinating again?

"I have forgotten to tell you something. You are still intact with your power of the wild card. Tartarus will be a longer and a more painful journey ahead. I suggest you trek it with caution. Also, I have confirmed that my sister will be coming along with her guests in a few days time." Elizabeth walks to the glass window from behind.

"He-hey! A question. What's happening to this world?" I look at her and she shakes her head.

"My sister has strictly forbidden us to 'help'. Though I am no longer a denizen of the Velvet Room, I still comply with some rules. I apologize but I bid you good luck~" Elizabeth jumps out the window and disappears with a laugh.

Sister, brother... Theo, Elizabeth and another person huh... Isn't that... Margaret? I remember a door that I've opened in the Velvet Room once. Margaret took charge of it and told me to fight Shadows I've defeated before; only that they're even stronger than before.

I remember the Velvet Room now. Igor, Theo and Margaret. How come I've never known of Elizabeth?

Huh... Speaking of which, I hadn't thought carefully about it but Theo and I were in a relationship before...

I was met with a heartbreak with him and another one was with Aragaki-senpai when he was in a coma. After that, it was Ryoji-kun when he disappeared in front of me when we defeated him...

Every love that I bore only ended in death and melancholy. I don't want to make the same mistake again. No more.

Is it really the time to be thinking about love though... It's enough about that.

Huh... I can't think carefully. Better just get some sleep...

At the thought, I decided to go to sleep.

What awaited me deep in my consciousness was something that I had never expected.

"Good afternoon." A boy said.

I realized that I was sleeping on the ground but everything was black. The dark stretches to no end. I take a look at the boy. He's glowing. I take a look at myself. I'm also glowing.

"You don't remember me?" He sounds monotone. At his question, I take another close look at him.

"P-Pharos...?" A-Am... I right?

"Right on." He smiled.

"Why are you here? Is the world going to end... again?" My body was getting filled up with terror.

"Fortunately, that's not it." He helped me stand up.

"Then why?"

"Due to the matter between time and the two universes, I somehow managed to enter your consciousness with no particular harm. Meaning to say, I am merely an interference with your consciousness."

"So you're like my guardian angel?"

Pharos and I walk around the darkness.

"In a sense, yes." He smiled. At the thought, something came to mind.

"Then what about your other self? Ryoji-kun?"

The time when Pharos disappeared was when Ryoji came to us. At the last moment, he had told me that he was Pharos but he hadn't known until that time. I couldn't really blame him for that.

"In here, I can change forms whenever I want." Pharos suddenly grew taller and his facial and physical features changed, along with his voice.

"Ryoji-kun... So wait, lemme get this straight. You came into my consciousness without any particular reason because there's a problem with time and the two universes? What does that mean?" I try to get the pieces together.

So what I got so far is that there are two universes. Mine and Minato's. We experienced the same fate according to Mitsuru except there are a little tweaks here and there. Like how Aragaki died in their world, how Minato became The Seal and he also had some friends that I'm unaware of but most of them are people I know, I think?

"Unfortunately, I can't tell you. There are certain informations that I cannot share with even you. It's the rule of the galaxy and it's chosen denizens." He whimpers.

"I see... Will I be alright? You know, at the end." Will I die? Will people die? What's gonna happen?

"That's... based on your decision at the end." Another melancholic look is shown.

"Okay but I'm glad someone's here to keep me company. I'm really glad that you're back. So... happy." I smiled and so did he. We talked about a few things as we walked through the abyss of nothingness.

"So Ryoji-kun... Can I ask one question? Just a yes or no or however you want. If you can't answer it then you just have to tell me." I need to know something.

"You can. Things that don't need particular details could be answered."

At his answer, I told him all about what happened to Bunkichi and Mitsuko.

"Will I encounter more of that?" I added.

"Yes, you will." With a blunt answer, he managed to make me shudder.

"So... Are those people close to me?" I need him to answer as much questions as possible.

"Very." He murmured as if he's trying to not let me hear it.

"I see... I still don't understand though. How can Ryoji-kun be here without being a threat?" Why is that? He's only alive because he's Death. A bringer of The Fall.

"That's... Also something that I cannot tell you. I'm only here to guide you to a few things. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm just glad that you're back." Looking ahead, I see a light at the end.

"That's the signal. I'll see you later." He smiled and waves at me and so did I.

So... when that light appears, I wake up I guess, since after I went to the light, I found myself in the dark hospital room.

I've been asleep all afternoon.

"Mmm... Huh?" At my side, I saw Aragaki sleeping, holding my hand.

"Aragaki-senpai...?" I mutter his name for no intimate reason.

"Fake... exterminat-No. Please run." Aragaki sweats. It's like he's having a battle with himself.

"Senpai, wake up..." I shake his shoulder lightly but he was sound asleep.

"Can't... kill...not me nor her." He mumbles with pale face.

"Senpai!" I shout.

"No!" He shouted, gripping my hand tightly.

He stared at me... A bad parlor shown...

"You seemed like you were having a bad dream. Do you want to tell me about it?" Aragaki-senpai isn't one who'll speak up but it might be possible.

"I'll kill you..." It took him a whole minute to say those three words and when he said those words, fear was absolute.

"Someone came and told me that I was fake. I should also kill you since you're one too. When I saw that someone, it was me from a few years ago." Aragaki squeezed my hand tighter. "Be careful, just in case." He added.

Even like this, he's still worried about me.

"Okay." I nod and grip his hand. "Aragaki-senpai, let's-" I was about to tell him about something important but the sound of the clock becomes louder and louder. I had finally realized that it wasn't from this room. It was outside...

It's... Tartarus.

'Come.' That's what I heard.

I have to go.

One second, I let go of an important person's hand.

Another second, I stand up in complete anxiety.

Three seconds, I leave, not minding his desperate calls.

Fourth second, I find myself running on the streets.

The fifth second, the tower emerges and I enter.

The same entrance, the same things, the same place.

I run to the place where I 'killed' my friends. At that moment that I arrived, I made a complete stop and saw nothing but the wide open area.

For a minute, I thought that I had heard the voice of Minato. Ironically, I have never known him nor have I ever saw or heard him.

I walk around the wide open space. How funny. This is 'Hell' but I'm leisurely strolling around the whole place. Come to think of it, I don't see any shadows. Is there something about this floor?

I take a look around. Something that I haven't done when I came here. The floor was uninhabited. No shadow, no bug, no anything... until I arrived at a certain dead end of the floor.

There was something on the ground. Out of curiosity, I crouch down to take a closer look.

It's a persimmon fruit...?

Why is something like this here?

Regardless, I pick it up without hesitation then put it in my pocket and I hear Aragaki shouting to me. I follow his voice and we were able to meet up.

But as I thought...

"The hell were you doing running by yourself?!"

I was scolded at...

Yeesh, everyone is so uptight.

"Hey, chill senpai! It's safe. I've been here before. Now,let's go down and meet up with Mitsuru-san. She's probably already there." I said and he followed. Of course, he kept scolding me to no end.

When we reached the ground floor, we saw Mitsuru, Akihiko, Aegis, Labrys and Fuuka.

"What were you two doing running around Tartarus without any back up?!" And as expected, Mitsuru was the same.

Both Aragaki and I apologized. Mitsuru still got mad but told us to be more careful next time. I wonder if she said that because she cares or if we're important suspects.

"I wish you all safety." Fuuka smiled along with Labrys and Aegis.

We aren't sure if there are shadows that will also appear downstairs so just in case something happens, it'll be taken care of.

And so, Mitsuru, Akihiko, Aragaki and I venture forth the unexplored paths of Tartarus.

I had noticed that we already passed the place where we saw Bunkichi and Mitsuko.

Then we saw stairs up ahead and climbed up. Arriving on the next floor, we cautiously took a peek from the sides.

"Don't worry, everyone. I don't detect any strong or many shadows so it's okay." Fuuka told us through telepathy.

At Mitsuru's signal, we looked around the floor.

It's... bright?

Upon a closer look, I can see... a beach...?

"There's a beach in the middle of Tartarus? Yamagishi, respond." all of us took caution as we walked around. There were faceless people playing around. Children, men, women, old people... The sea was glistening and the weather was unbelievably hot when we stepped on the sand.

"Kirijo-senpai, the beach is the same as one when we visited the Kirijo Estate'! Don't be fooled. The people there are shadows." Fuuka warned us with all her might.

"Sure but what is this place? By the way, it's steaming hot..." Aragaki mumbled, wiping off his sweat.

"We better head back and-Arisato?!" Mitsuru looked at me in utter shock.

Because of the extreme heat, I hurriedly took my clothes off. "It's so hot... I need to swim..."

"Arisato!" Mitsuru took off her fur white coat and placed it on me. "You two!" She turned towards Akihiko and Aragaki and they flinched.

"I-I have no interests on a high school girl. Right, Aki?" Aragaki looked away.

"Y-yeah. That's right." Akihiko followed Aragaki's notions.

Oh. I laugh.

They're afraid of Mitsuru-san.

"I remember when we went to the school trip and there were... Peeping Toms. It was such a sweet victory for the girls." I say.

"Very bitter..." Akihiko's face turned blue. "No more Mitsuru kicks."

"Hmm..." Mitsuru smiled.

"Mitsuru-san, you're smiling! You look really beautiful like that! You should smile more often!" I smiled at her and she blushed.

"Thank you, Arisato. W-well then, let's head back down and get some armor or clothing suitable for our mission." At Mitsuru's command, we all head back down.

"Are you all alright? No casualties?" Fuuka rushed over to us wand checked us for any ailments.

"We're alright. Thank you, Yamagishi." Mitsuru informed me to fix up my clothes. She then chatted with Fuuka about the floor we had just been on.

"I didn't sense anything that dangerous though. Why would it be that beach of all places though?" Fuuka pondered along with Mitsuru. "It IS Tartarus. I doubt it was there for no reason. Still... What could be the reason?"

Sighing, I see a door at the far end of the entrance hall of Tartarus.

What is it, this time?

I look at them and then back at the door. I slowly opened it and went inside.

"T-Theo? The hell are you wearing?"

Theo was at a counter.

Is this an item shop...?

There were clothes, armor, weapons, potions, charms, etc. lined amongst the shelves.

The thing that mostly catches my eye is what Theo is wearing.

A bright pink heart-shaped frilly apron.

"Welcome, dear customer." Theo smiled, unaffected by my disgusted look.

WHAT.

"Oh? Seems there is another customer. Strange." The door that was closed behind me suddenly opened.

At the door, a young man with gray hair emerges.

"Narukami-san, it is nice to see you again. Can I help you?" Theo and the Narukami guy seemed like close friends. Who is he?

"Yeah, you too. Margaret forced me to open the door in front of me so yeah." Narukami scratched the back of his head with a crooked smile.

Cute.

Wait, Margaret?

And he knows Theo? Is he just like me?

If I recall correctly, only ONE with the power of the wild card is able to be a guest of the Velvet Room. It's like a successor thingy.

This Narukami guy might be a big hint to finding out my existence in this world.

~To be continued~

This chapter was kinda boring in my point? I had a lot of mixed feelings about this so I'm really sorry. It might be boring but this chapter is really important. It gives a whole lot of clues to the plot but it's not too obvious that you're able to find it out so fasr. :3

Actually, I was supposed to kill Aragaki in this chapter. (IM SORRY...) but it never reached that part so it's okay!

Also, to people wondering about how Aragaki is in a coma when he's supposed to be dead... If you max out his social link in FeMC route and hand him the pocket watch, it will take the bullet for him on the night of his death and he just ends in a coma but at the last day of school, he wakes up from his coma and you can spend your last day with him instead of Aegis so that explains it. :3

!Now it's answering your opinions/questions Time!

So Mayu123, thank you for taking your time to read my story! Hope to be hearing more from you. :3

Thank you for complimenting on how I'm doing an okay job on confusing you people. XD

So about your opinion on how the story is and will go... Yes, it's a fact that there are two universes, Minako's and Minato's but after that is all according to my plan. That's all I can say. w

So for Shinji, I have answered the question in this chapter. X3

Welp, I actually wonder on what I'll use Yu for anyway. '3' Even I don't know.

And Theo is adorkable! Love him lots! Your brother is just like mine too! XD Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for being okay with any kind of ship but I'm still not accurately sure on who to pair Mina with though. -3-

And now for Mr/Ms/Mrs Guest.

The ship is still not certain but I see a lot of people shipping Aki with Mina. To me, Aki is the 'safest' choice, know what I mean? And I don't play safe. It has to be full of troubles and excitement. Pain, etc. but my ship is still on the loading point so it could be Aki... '^'

Yeah, Yu Narukami is pretty good and when I hear Souji Seta, I'm reminded of Souji Okita from Hakuoki and since I played his route, I cried. QAQ

Thanks for loving my story! Helps me get motivated! Thanks a lot for you support! Elizabeth's failure will be revealed at the climax though so it will be quite a journey. '3'

!Question Time!

!Affect-Story Question!

Do you want the extra characters to be in the fanfic as well? You know, the other people you make social links with. Maiko-chan, Akinari, Odagiri, Bebe, Tanaka, etc.

!Opinion Question!

How do you feel about having Ryoji/Pharos back? Should he never have come or he's important since he provides a sense of relief?

That's all for this chapter! Thanks for reading! Hope you'll continue reading the next ones to come. I'm really happy about your reviews, favorites, and follows! Thanks a whole lot!

Hope you all have a wonderful morning/afternoon/night! :D


	5. Newly Found Journey

"Narukami...san...?" I mumble so that he'd take notice of me.

"Yes?" He smiled gently, eyeing me from top to bottom.

"Sorry! You're a persona user too, right?" I smiled as brightly as I could.

"Yes, that's right. Let me guess... Your given name starts with an M..." he mumbled.

"T-that's right! Can you guess my last name?" I stare at him with amazement.

"A-Arisato...?" Narukami rubbed his fingers on his forehead.

"Oh my God! Are you a magician?!" I shake his hand saying:"Nice to meet you!"

"Mmm." Narukami shakes his head. "Nice to meet you too, Minako-san."

"Oh! COOL! So you do know my whole name! What's yours?" I,smile.

"Yu." He says casually.

Is he speaking English? Good thing I studied.

"Me?" I wonder.

"No, it's Yu."

Wow, he's good at English but I'm not gonna lose here.

"Your name is Minako too? Guess that's gonna be hard huh. Oh but maybe we can call you Minagou? ( a mixture of Minako and nigou that's literally translating to Second Minako if I'm right)"

"Y... U..."

"Eh? What did I do to make you say that? Sorry, !"

"No, the spelling of my name is just the letters Y and U."

"Aaah so it's Yu... I guess your name is easily confused with huh..." I chuckle and he sighs.

"It's not really..." he mutters in English.

So he was originally speaking in Japanese... Haha. He's also fluent in English. What an awesome guy.

"Hehe. Anyway... What are you doing here? Do you have a particular goal in fighting shadows? Saving the world? Bloodlust or something?" What could be his reason?

"Ah no, it's just something simple. I'm looking for someone."

"Someone huh. Maybe I can help you! What does this person look like?"

"No, it's okay. I can't ask help from a beautiful and gentle girl." He says.

Boy, this guy is a smooth talker, huh.

"I see. Well then, Theo, I want to ask about this place. What is it?"

Narukami doesn't seem like the guy who would want to talk...

"My sister figured that the guests would not have a suitable shop to buy from so I was called to handle this workshop."

"Perfect timing then!" I clasp my hands together.

"I need swimsuits. 2 girls and 2 boys. I also need suitable weapons for each. Items too. Ointments, revival beads, etc. I'm gonna need fire and water resistant accessories. I think the shadows are powerful in those areas." I rummage my pockets to get my wallet.

I still have a lot of money. Guess I didn't really spend the rewards I got from completing requests from Theo.

"I'm just gonna need some new weapons." Narukami toyed around with the things in the shop.

"O-of course." Theo shuffled around.

"On a second thought, I need a thunder proof vest, two spiked shoes and an agility ring." Theo started getting confused at Narukami's orders but he just said "Understood!"

"Theo, it's fine. I'll just get the thing I need. Focus on Narukami-san's orders first." I chuckle.

"N-no! It's alright. I can handle a task as simple as this."

It was pretty obvious that Theo doesn't know what to do anymore.

I can't really leave him alone, can I?

I take a book that was lying around a table and threw it to the side where it'd make a huge noise. It's a good thing that Theo didn't notice it was me. Obviously, Narukami was confused with what I did.

Theo, startled, looked behind and exclaimed:"Oh my! Excuse me for a second." and went to pick up the things that had fallen.

While he was busy, I took all the things that Narukami and I needed and put them on a shelf beside the counter. Narukami understood and nodded at me.

"Oh, Theo. Are you done cleaning up? What about the things that we need?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Y-yes! Immediately!" He hurried back and looked around. Looks like he forgot what he needed.

He had stopped on the shelf that I wanted him to and I said:"Cool, Theo! That's what we needed! All of those on that shelf? Could you get them?"

"Immediately!" He responded and placed all the items on the counter.

"Thanks!" I smiled and quickly paid, took the items with me and hurried to the door that I went through before.

"I hope to see Narukami-san again. Good luck with your adventure!" I waved to him and he smiled saying: "You too."

"Bye Theo! I'll be back!" I couldn't forget to say bye to Theo too.

"I hope to see you again." Theo smiled and I left.

"Arisato? Hey, Arisato. Snap out of it!" Aragaki shook my shoulders violently.

"H-huh?" I look at him in confusion.

"Arisato, are you alright? You looked like you were in quite a trance there. You were also mumbling to yourself." A worried Mitsuru was what I could see. I look down and see a paper bag in my grip.

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just talking to my uhh... Imaginary friends!" As desperate as I was, that was the only answer I could think of. They might think I'm crazy if I say that there's a door that only I can see and there's some hot guy who thought that a swing is a house and some long nosed oldie who's really creepy in there.

"Imaginary friends?" Mitsuru looked at me in a strange manner.

"Y-yeah!" I am a complete idiot.

"I-I see. Well then, I was saying that we should head back. After all, I don't think that we can fight in that heat. I apologize for having you come here." Mitsuru doesn't look too pleased with herself.

"Mitsuru-san, what are you talking about? It's a good coincidence that I thought that it would be a good idea to bring my battle swimsuits along with battle accessories and battle parasols with me." I grinned and held out my paper bag.

"Who are you trying to fool-"

"Cool! Arisato, you're a responsible one! You always gotta be ready for any season, right?" Akihiko gave me a big 'ol thumbs up while Aragaki looked displeased.

"Guess there IS a fool here..." Aragaki sighed and put a hand over his face.

"Ah?! Are you talking about me, Shinji?" Akihiko got mad.

"Who else? When it comes to fighting- Wait, no. Anytime at anyplace, you really are a muscle brained idiot."

"Pft, you're just jealous that I got stronger, aren't you?"

"Wha-Why the hell would I be jealous?! Sometimes I feel like I'm babysitting a spoiled child."

"Who are you calling a child?! I bet you can't even beat me in anything!"

"Hah? Wanna try?!"

"Go ahead!"

Aragaki and Akihiko readied their fists as Mitsuru started to fume up.

"Best leave then alone." She sighed. "Anyway, Arisato, may I see that bag?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. Here. A pearl white swimsuit. I know that this'll suit you! And a black and white parasol." I smiled and handed them to her. "The parasol is actually a rapier so don't worry."

"I see. I humbly accep-Are you telling me to wear THIS swimsuit? There is hardly any material in this." Mitsuru blushed, fiddling with the cloth of the swimsuit I had given her.

"Yeah. It's cute, right? Mine is a checkered one." I flashed the swimsuit to her.

"U-uhh... I don't think there is a need for these sort of-",

"No way! Are you saying that you're backing down from this fight?" I taunt her and she falls for it.

"O-of course not!"

"Then go change over there." I smiled and she bit her lip lightly, moving to a dark corner of the room.

"I got some too for Sanada-senpai and Aragaki-senpai!"

"What?" Aragaki and Akihiko stopped fighting.

"Great!" Akihiko took the swimming trunks and the matching blade fists.

"I don't want to wear something as ridiculous as-"

"Shinji's a huge wimp."

"Fine!"

Aragaki took the swimming trunks and huge umbrella by force.

"Good! Then I'll be changing over there! You can just change anywhere, right?" I grinned and they nodded as I went off into a corner opposite of Mitsuru.

"Hey Shinji... If she's changing then doesn't that mean...?" Akihiko whispered then got hit by Aragaki telling him to shut up.

What are they talking about, I wonder...

"And... done!" I placed all my clothes in my paper bag and fix my swimsuit. "Mitsuru-san, are you also done?"

"Y-yes... but isn't this a little too revealing...?" She blushes as she gets close.

"It looks good, doesn't it, Labrys-san? Aigis?Fuuka-chan?" I looked at them and they nodded.

"Very! You look like a super model, Kirijo-senpai!" Fuuka clasped her hands and Labrys agreed.

"You are a 'hot mama' as Junpei-san says." We buffered a little bit at what Aigis said.

"Aigis, that's not really a proper saying..." I sigh.

"Then what would be a better phrase?" She cocked her head.

"Sexy ass!" My eyes shine as disgust goes around the air.

"I see. Affirmative. Preparing to update vocabulary." In a robotic voice, a small "beep" could be heard.

"A-Aigis-san, p-please don't use that." Fuuka smiled feeling uncomfortable.

"Lets not waste any more time. Lets go." Aragaki proceeded upward and all of us followed, prepared this time.

"So Mitsuru-san, I want to ask what the... Shadow Operatives are." I mumbled. Feeling the realistic sand through my feet.

Everything here looks so real...

"It's an unofficial section of the police force that deals with the investigation and destruction of Shadows. We're finding out on how to permanently exterminate all the Shadows in the world." Mitsuru looks ahead.

She looks really melancholic."Hmm... Sanada-senpai, what's your dream? You're... in college by now, I think?" I try to change the subject.

"My dream? I'm planning to join the police force and just be a reserve member of the Shadow Operatives." He grins.

"I see. It sounds very fitting of you. I know that you'll do a great job and save a lot of lives. Aragaki-senpai, what about you?" I turn towards Aragaki who continues to look at the sea.

"I..." he mumbled.

"You wanna be a professional chef, right? Like Cooking Master Guy or something? Yakitate Tokyo, Yumeiro Bakery, Kitchen Prince... And-and you'll be in those contests like Demon's Kitchen Master Chef. Oh but the dude is so mean... I agree with him sometimes though..." I continue to yap and yap and they just ignore me.

"Stop! There's a shadow in front you!" Fuuka shouts and we ready our gear.

"Alright, I've been waiting for this!" Akihiko tightens his fists.

"Huh. I'm tired of reading books." there is a little red headed girl walking in front of us.

"T-this girl is the Shadow?" Aragaki looked at her in confusion.

"She's so cute!" I smile and squat in front of the girl.

"Hey, what are you doing, idiot?!" Aragaki shouts at me and I retaliate with a"Psh. She looks harmless." face.

"What's your name?" I smile at her and she does the opposite.

"I don't believe that I should associate with strangers." She looks away. "Do not take me for an idiot."

"Snot nosed brat." I whisper under my breath. "Aragaki-senpai! She's being mean to me!" I cry out.

Aragaki sighs. "Yamagishi, where's the Shadow?"

"It's... gone? The presence of the Shadow is completely 's only a human presence." She mumbles in shock.

"So this girl might be a Lost?" Akihiko squats beside me and looked at the girl. "What's your name, girl?"

"I am of no obligation to answer that." She turns away.

"Brat." We whisper under our breaths.

"That's because you two are morons." Aragaki puts a hand on his face. "Hey, what's wrong?" He looks at the puzzled girl.

"Nothing?" She tilts her head.

"Liar." He says sharply.

"What? How would you even know what I'm-"

"Because I know your situation..." He gives a light pause before he says:"Mitsuru."

"This girl is... Mitsuru-san?!" I shout and look at Mitsuru then the girl over and over.

She's been quiet the whole time and I hadn't noticed at all.

"Huh. You're pretty sharp. I guess looks reflect ones personality after all."

Is this kid really Mitsuru-san? I'm sorry but she's really obnoxious. Kids will be kids after all.

"Hahaha...hahahahahah..." the little girl laughs and disappears.

"What the hell was that about?" Akihiko and I stood up.

"The presence is completely gone! I suggest we look out for that girl! Fuuka shouts."There's something off about her."

"Everything is off about her." Aragaki rubs the back of his neck.

"Hey, Mitsuru-san? You haven't been talking for awhile?" I wave a hand in front of her and she snaps back with an apology.

"I was just reminded of something. No matter. Let us proceed."

"I see...?" I mumble. "Okay, lets-"

"There's are three shadows behind you!" Fuuka shouts.

"Oh my God, Every time I try to progress, these things happen. Ugh. Why didn't I buy any disperse amulets? With that, I could avoid Shadows for some time. I mean, dungeon problems, you know." I complain.

"Then you should use #dungeonproblems when you post a status on Facemag." Fuuka gladly chatted with me.

"#dungeonproblems? What's a #?" I tilt my head as I get rid of the Shadows.

"Oh. They don't exist in 2009-2010 yet." Fuuka mumbles.

"I see. It's 2015 this year, right?" I ask a rhetorical question. "There should be a lot of things that happened and were invented, right?" I start to get excited. "What's new, what's new?!"

"Revealing what became of the future might affect the timeline. It might as well be changed for the bad. It's a bad idea." Aragaki looks ahead and destroys the Shadow.

"It is fine to chat but not at this moment!" Mitsuru shouts and chants 'Bufudyne' and defeats another enemy.

"Yay, we defeated them all! It's so easy!" I grin and give a peace sign.

"Well anyway, lets head to the next floor. Look, the stairs are at the end." I point there and run with the others following me.

"Lets be cautious, Arisato." Mitsuru reminds me and I nod. We then proceed to go up with caution.

"A-a-a-achoo! W-why is it so cold...?" I rub my shoulders and take a peek at the next floor.

"Wah-I-it's a blizzard!" I shout and run down, shaking. It's so cold.

"What in the world is this blizzard?!" Mitsuru shouts.

"Ahahahahahaha! I'm glad you made it this far but it doesn't end here yet." That sounds like the red headed girl from before!

I ran up to see the little girl... She's... a middle schooler? Now she looks a lot like Mitsuru.

"Kirijo-senpai, the climate and weather has been changed. It looks like she's the one controlling them!" Fuuka reports.

"This is all your doing, correct? What is your motive?!" Mitsuru shouts and the middle schooler's eyes glow gold.

"It's so troublesome, isn't it? Being a leader and all. Sucks, right? You gotta be calm and collected all the time." She laughs.

"Could she be a Shadow?!" Akihiko readies his fist.

"Stand back, mortal." The middle schooler pushes him aside with a great force.

"Sanada-senpai!" I shout and run after him, only to get pushed with the great force.

"Are you all right?" Akihiko managed to catch me.

"Y-yeah..." I hold onto him for support as we stand up.

"This is my world and I forbid you from entering." She grins and casts 'Bufudyne'.

"Barrier!" I shout and a transparent shield protects us.

"I-I-I-I-I s-s-suggest we head back. I can't hold on for too-achooew!" I sneeze and make everyone evacuate to the previous floor.

We all try to catch our breaths.

"Thank God... Sweaty hot beach." I lie down and bathe myself in the sun.

"Hey Mitsuru-san, is it that 'I am a Shadow, the true self' that you talked about before?" I ask. She said there were alternate Shadows that say that they're your inner self that you hide.

"It's possible but why would it happen again?" Akihiko sits down and thinks.

"The same thing happened to Bunkichi jii-chan and Mitsuko baa-chan so this time it's Mitsuru-san. If we defeat that Shadow, will you lose your memories of Minato-san or me like how they lost their memories of... me?" They forgot, yes. This might be the whole point to why there were Shadows pretending to be like them.

To forget me or Minato-san...?

"Mitsuru-san! I think that we should defeat all of those True Shadows and head to the top!" I have a gut feeling that that's what we should do.

Mitsuru glared at me. "We can't be too reckless. This might be like what happened at the Ultimate Arena where we were lead to defeat the Shadows in order to trigger The End."

"No, I don't think it is..." I tilt my head. "For a reason, I think it really isn't that... They didn't tell us to fight the Shadow Mitsuru-san, right? More like she wanted us to get away."

"For the meantime, lets head back. It's dangerous here." Aragaki goes down and we all head back.

"This place is 100000 times more annoying than before." I pout.

"I guess we gotta be prepared for any weather. This is really troublesome..." Mitsuru looks at another side of the room.

"I think we should rest for today. We only have 5 minutes left after all." I say. "I mean, realistically speaking, of course. We're not superheroes, androids nor hybrids after all."

"I agree." Mitsuru nods. "Lets fall back then."

At her order, we all go home and rest up. Mitsuru, Aigis, Fuuka, Aragaki, Labrys and Akihiko all have separate places to stay so we promised to meet at Paulownia Mall in 14 hundred hours.

"I'm home." I open the door of Iwatodai dorm and slump against the couch. I'm so tired. I never knew I could ever feel like falling asleep so fast. Must be fatigue...?

Hah... Sleep...

"Welcome home... Minako-san?" I can faintly hear Ken's voice.

"Sleeping on the couch too. Honestly." He sighs and picks me up.

I can just wake up but this's free service and I don't have to waste any energy so meh.

"She's really light... It's weird. She said that she ate 20 hamburgers in 15 minutes too." Ken talked to himself as he carried me up the stairs.

Isn't this like those cliche scenes in shoujo manga?! Like the girl falls asleep and the guy brings her to her bed then kisses her?!

Wait, wait, wait. This is Ken-kun. The Ken-kun of another universe who doesn't have memories of me.

"Hmm? There's something in her pocket..." He slides his hand down the pocket of my pants and I slap him.

"Where do you think you're touching?!" I shout.

At his surprise, he drops me hard on the ground.

"Ouch!" I immediately stand up and rub my butt. "That hurts!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have surprised me, Minako-san!"

"Well you shouldn't have slid your hand down the pockets of my pants!" I shout.

"So you were awake this whole time?!" He shouts louder and I shrink.

"Uhh... I got lazy and tired so..." I grew sheepish.

"I see. Don't be a couch potato." He glares at me.

"Yes, sir..." I whimper and take the persimmon fruit from my pocket. "Is this what you were trying to get earlier, Ken-kun?"

"Yeah. I was just wondering what it was so yeah." He looked down.

"You can have it. I don't have a particular need for it anyway." I hand him the persimmon fruit but he refuses.

"No, it's alright." He says.

"Ken-kun, when someone offers you kindness, you should accept it. Haven't you heard of that?"

"Yeah but-"

"No buts. Hey, you don't have club activities anymore, right?" I ask as I shove the persimmon to Ken.

"No more... But Minako-san, can I ask you to-"

" 'Please let me join in the adventure in Tartarus?' " I grin.

"How'd you-"

"I've known you since you were 10. How could I not recognize you as much. Anyway, even I can't accept it. It's too dangerous. You might get sick."

"I'm much stronger than I was before!"

"Ken-kun, I'm known to be a carefree person by you in the other universe so when I'm serious, it's really serious." I frown then immediately smile. "Anyway, goodnight!" I run back to my room and go to sleep.

"Good morning." Pharos smiles.

My vision is still blurry but it slowly becomes clearer.

Man, I fall asleep too fast and faint easily. Feels like getting drugged. I should get a doctor.

"Hey, Pharos. What's up?" I stand up.

"What's down?" He grins.

"No. Don't go there." I give him a poker face and he smiles.

"Have you found your goal in Tartarus?"

"It's to defeat Shadow Mitsuru-san and all the others after."

"Are you sure about your choice?" He looks up at me.

"I am but what will happen when I defeat them?"

"What you said when you were conscious. It's right. It's memory loss. Just like the old couple." Pharos makes a couch appear out of nowhere and offers me to sit down.

"Memory loss... What kind of memory loss... Let me guess, you can't tell me, right?" At my question, he nods.

"I think what you're doing right now is right. There's a difference between right and wrong but it will only be right or wrong when you think it is but you will be responsible for the consequence of your actions." He smiles.

"Sounds like a paradox." I rub my head.

"So Pharos, who's Minato?" I ask, hoping that he would answer.

"He is... your other self, so to say. Like a you from an alternate universe or your brother."

"My...brother..." I repeat.

"By the way, the item that you found in Tartarus. Remember to keep it with you always, alright? It'll prove useful when you find out what it is actually for." He smiled.

"Y-you mean the persimmon fruit...?" Sweat starts to drip down my forehead.

"Correct. It will not rot so keep it safe in your hands."

"O-okay."

Dear God, please don't let Ken eat the fruit!

"Oh? What have we here? Who are you?" A familiar figure walks towards us and comes to light.

"Elizabeth?" I ask. "What are you doing here?"

"I have come to inform you that you don't have much time. You have to complete two labyrinths in Tartarus by tomorrow night. Also, my sister will be arriving tomorrow night." She looks at Pharos and frowns. "You are... what are you? You aren't like one of us, are you?"

"I'm not." He smiles.

"Dear guest, please be wary of this man." Elizabeth glares at him.

"O-okay...?" I answer hesitantly.

Pharos isn't someone mean nor dangerous... is he?

"How about you?" Pharos grins at Elizabeth and she smiles back.

"I am Elizabeth. Now, I shall be going. Farewell." Elizabeth smiles and disappears.

I can't understand them at all.

"Pharos, what does she mean?"

"I don't know?" He smiles while shrugging.

He's lying.

"It's time to wake up, Minako-san." Pharos points at the growing light at a distance.

"Really? That was fast... Okay. See you."

"Till next time." He smiles and everything slowly fades into a sunshine.

"Mmm...Time...?" I take a look at the clock beside me.

"1 o'clock?!" I sit up in a panic. How long did I sleep?!

Gotta take a bath, a bath!

I hurry to the bathroom and did my daily wake up routine.

I managed to do everything by 1:30. Now I gotta head down. Is Ken still there?

"Ah, Minako-san, let's go. I made you a Spamaki." Ken was sitting on the living room's couch with Koromaru.

"Why are you also...?" I ask in confusion.

"We got permission from Kirijo-senpai." he smiled and Koromaru barked.

"O-okay. By the way, did you already eat the persimmon fruit I gave you?" I try to change the subject lightly.

"Not yet. I'm planning to eat it later for a snack." He smiled and stood up. "Shall we go then?"

I nod. "Okay. Let's go Koro-chan, Ken-kun."

Okay. Operation:'Get A Hold of the Fruit without Ken Noticing' is now in action!

-To be continued-

You know those moments when you already have the story in your notes on your phone and you're too lazy to transfer it onto your MW? Yeah... I don't think so... or when you stop the story based on the word count? Anyone else like that? Just me? Okay.

Anyway, to any of you who don't know what a Spamaki is, it's a Spam with rice under it that's wrapped with seaweed. It's like a maki only that the topping is Spam and it's bigger.

So now we have our goal in the story which is defeating all the Shadows! Shadow Mitsuru, Shadow this, Shadow that... Of course, rest assured, it's not like one of those "I am a Shadow, the true self" thing again. It's different... Kind of.

Special Service: You want a spoiler answer on a question that you'll ask~? Message me if you do. People have different perspectives so I wouldn't know what you're thinking about this so yeah.

I love Ken-kun a lot! I mean, I hated him when he was a child but then he became a hot middle school student and-and-yeah... I'm the lowest person in the world.

What I meant by Akihiko being the safest is that if Minako pursues him, it will be a bittersweet love story. In the old Persona games, it has a really dark setting so I want to maintain a setting in the story where it's dark but a little puffy with rainbows and sunshine.

Question time!

What could be the reason on why the persimmon fruit is important? (I think it will be revealed in the next chapter anyway.)

I don't know if this chapter is good enough so I'm sorry if it didn't meet your expectations.

Also, I think I'll be updating late since I have school and plays and magazine makings and a miniature torture chamber thing to do and stuff... And I'm only in grade 9! Ugh!

So anyway, thanks to everyone who's reading this fanfic. Means a lot.

Hope you guys look forward to the next! :3


	6. Remembrance

"We still have 20 minutes until the meeting time. Is there something you'd like to do?" Ken and I walked around Paulownia Mall searching for things to do.

"Nothing much. I'm still hungry though." I say, looking at Ken with pleading eyes. "Maybe you could give me the persimmon fruit so that we won't waste any mone-"

"Minako-san, here. I bought you some fries just now." Ken handed me the fries and I unwillingly accepted.

"T-thanks." I say.

"It's not a problem." He smiled.

"Y-yeah. Alright. I'm kinda thirsty too. Maybe the juice of the persimmon fruit I gave you might quench my-"

"I bought you Smart B too. Lemon flavor." He smiled and gave me the bottled drink.

"Thanks a lot. Hey, wait. When and Where do you buy these things anyway?!" I shout. Every time I try to ask him for the fruit, he always gets me a different item related to what I'm talking about.

Ken looks at me, looking rather kind."Hmm? There's just a store next to us . Every time you say 'I'm thirsty' or 'I'm hungry', I just buy there. Right, Koromaru?"

"Arf!" Koro-chan barked happily.

"Plus, I'm at fault for not waking you up earlier so it's my treat." He grinned.

"Ken-kun really has changed. You somehow have this shining aura around you." I smiled warmly and he blushed a bit.

"T-thank you..." He scratches his cheek lightly.

"No problem." How do I get the stupid fruit?!

"Minako-san." He says my name.

"Yeah?" I look at him, smiling.

"You keep saying 'Ken-kun from before' this, 'Ken-kun has changed' there and 'Ken-kun was' that. Please remember, I'm not the one that you've known from before." He looks down and bites his bottom lip.

Huh...?

"Ken-kun, does that really matter? It doesn't matter if you don't know me or if I know you from another universe or another galaxy. Ken-kun is Ken-kun no matter what. Plus, we already share a bond with each other as friends." I smile.

"Minako-san..." He looks at me straight in the eyes.

"So can I please have the persimmon fruit back and don't get angry?!" I clasp my hands together as if praying and shut my eyes tightly.

"Eh? The persimmon fruit?" His eyes are filled with confusion.

"Y-yeah, yeah. Because I n-need(?) It for something...?" I tilt my head.

"Ah, you could've just told me earlier." He laughed gently and handed me the persimmon fruit from his bag.

"Thank you so much! And I'm really sorry! I gave it to you and all that..." my voice turns into a whisper.

"It's alright. It's no big deal." He squat down and petted Koro-chan who was whining the whole time.

Great. What do I do with the fruit actually?

"Yo Minacchi, Amada boy!" Junpei shouts to us from a distance.

(Junpei refers to Ken as Amada-shounen which is just Amada boy in English)

"Junpei?" Ken and I looked at him in confusion.

"Hey, Stupei! Don't just run around where you please. You'll get lost, idiot!" Yukari hit his back hard.

"Oww! I'm already an adult. How could I even get lost?!" He hissed.

We then saw Mitsuru and the rest walking towards us.

"Mitsuru-san? Why...?" I ask.

She already knows what I mean.

Mitsuru sighed. "Just like Amada, they also pleaded to be part of the investigation. They wouldn't stop pestering me the whole night."

"Haha. That sounds just like them." I laughed.

"Don't worry, Minacchi! Sir Junpei shall defend you from the evil shadows!" Junpei grabbed me by the shoulder and grinned a ridiculous smile.

"Suuuuuuure you will." I say with sarcasm and roll my eyes.

"Ouch. No fate in me already huh." He held onto his chest as if he was stabbed.

"Oh, Labrys." I looked at the blue haired girl and came closer to her, ignoring Junpei's presence.

"It's nice to meet you. We didn't get to talk much before. Let alone have a proper introduction. I want us to get along and be friends. Is that all right?" I smiled at her but her expression seemed unimaginable.

"U-umm... I-It's nice ta meet ya too." She shook my hand.

"Your accent is so cute! Don't be cautious of me, okay? I won't bite. There's also no need to be shy around me." I flash a smile at her and she looks relieved.

"Yeah. Thank you, Minako-san." She smiled.

"Let's head Chagnal Cafe for now to talk everything through." Mitsuru spoke up and immediately headed to Chagnal Cafe.

We all agreed and walked side by side until I saw a blue light shining at the corner of my eye. I turn to see a narrow street where there was a blue door at the end.

"You guys go on ahead. I just gotta check something out." Not waiting for an answer, I already left.

This blue door is the Velvet Room.

I stop at the entrance and slowly turn the doorknob open and go inside.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality. Mind and matter." Igor was sitting down, smiling.

"How may we be of service?" Theo bowed lightly, showing an eerie smile.

"Umm... Can I take a look at the Persona Compendium?" I near myself towards Igor and Theo.

I haven't seen the Persona Compendium for awhile. I forgot how many personas I've registered.

"Certainly. Here you are." Theo handed me the compendium and I skimmed through it.

"Let's see..." What personas should I choose this time...?

Orpheus Telos is still in my possession. Good, good.

WAIT. ONLY Orpheus Telos is in my possession! What happened to the others?

I flipped the pages in a fast speed.

"Hey, where did all the other personas go? They're not in my possession." I'm starting to get worried. The Persona Compendium is complete but why aren't they in my possession?

With a calm tone, Theo said: "They have drifted away within time and were chosen by a new owner."

"Yu Narukami... Is that right?" I didn't bother looking at them and just looked at The personas.

"Correct." Igor said.

"So I DID die 2-3 years ago in my universe... After all, there can't be two guests in the Velvet Room at the same time while both having the power of the wild card." My words fastly slip through my mouth.

Did I become The Seal in my universe too? Did I die a normal death? No, the question is why am I here, alive.

Where my memory ended was the day when people told me I died. It sounds plausible after all.

I might figure it out when I get to the top of the tower.

"Umm... I want Alice, Titania, Titan, Queen Mab, Cybele, Trumpeter, Lucifer, Orobas, and Attis to aid me in battle." I gave back the compendium.

"Certainly. That'll be ¥192,762." Theo smiled and my mouth was gaping open.

"It got a whole lot cheaper! What happened?"

Usually, it'd cost around 300-500k.

"We had to adjust, per say." Theo looked indifferent and I just paid up the price as the personas entered my mind.

Mmm... I miss this surge of energy...

"Okay, now I'm fired up! Anyway, I don't think I need anything else for now so I'll be going. G'bye!" I grinned and left.

"Minako-san?" Someone was in front of my face. It was Ken.

"W-what's wrong, Ken-kun?" I ask awkwardly.

"You were out for too long that we got worried. I then saw you just standing in front of this dead end with blank eyes. What were you doing?" He tilts his head and I sneak a peek behind him.

The door is still there. That's right, normal people can't see it.

"I saw a cat there earlier. It was really charming that I got enchanted and followed it. Then I felt this dead end being really nostalgic for some reason so I wanted to remember why it brings me a sense of nostalgia. I'm okay now so let's go." I answer in a fast manner and laugh.

"No, it's alright. You want to remember, don't you? Then I'll stay until you can remember." Ken stood beside me and smiled.

Ken is mature AND kind. Sometimes I get worried whether he enjoys his youth or not.

"I remember now, Ken-kun so let's go back...and thank you." I smiled and so did he and then we went to Chagnal Cafe.

When one goes in, you can already smell the aroma of coffee beans and the aura of a mature and peaceful area.

We saw Mitsuru and everyone at the corner by the window. Ken and I sat side by side when we got there and ordered some pheromone coffee.

"So Minacchi, nice to meet you or... you already know me right? As crazy as you say it, I'm from another universe?" Junpei looked at me with disbelief.

"Yep!" I answered in a high pitched voice.

"Oh yeah? Prove it!" It felt like he was provoking me.

"Hey, you wanna hear another episode of... 'Stunpei's Believe it or Don't'?! Or... something like that." I gave a happy tone.

"Hmm... What else? And it's 'Junpei's' not 'Stupei's'." He gave an unsatisfied expression.

"Your necklace... Chidori-chan gave it to you in memory of her, right? And the flower that never wilts at 'that' place... Is a sign that she was alive and healthy on earth..." my eyes lowered to my cup of coffee. "Sorry..." I muttered.

I talked about the wrong topic...

"I totes believe you!" He raised his voice and people started staring at us.

"Iori, lower your voice!" Mitsuru hissed at him and he apologized.

"Really? You totes believe me?" My heart started to feel at ease as Junpei gave silly grin.

"Totally!" He grinned and Mitsuru silently smiled.

"Still, It's weird to see Aragaki-senpai here like... alive." Yukari took a peak at Aragaki followed by the others but he didn't mind our stares.

"Anyway, how are we going to enter the labyrinth. Okay, there was a beach and we went there in swimsuits but then there's a blizzard at the next floor-" As Aragaki was talking, Junpei cut him off.

"Swimsuits?! What? What? I missed it?! We can still go there later, right?!" Junpei sounded and looked desperate. Rather, he was desperate. Guess he never changes.

"Iori. This isn't the time." Aragaki put a hand over his face.

"What do you mean this isn't the time?! Aaaah! If only I pleaded earlier, I could've seen Kirijo-san in a swimsuit!" He slammed the table in devastation.

"Do you want to be punished?" Mitsuru glared at Iori which made him shudder and sit straight.

"I'm terribly sorry." He murmured in complete fear and remained quiet.

"As Aragaki was saying..." Mitsuru beckoned Aragaki to continue.

"Yeah." Aragaki nodded and continued.

He told everyone about what happened last night and asked if anyone had an idea to get inside without getting affected by the bizarre climate.

"Hmm... How indeed..." Yukari pondered over the problem.

"I have an idea!" Junpei beamed at us and we were all shocked.

"You have an idea for once, Junpei?!" I raise my voice and he furrowed his eyebrows in response.

"How stupid do you think of me as, Minacchi?" He looked hurt yet again but like the Junpei I know, he knows that I'm joking.

"Bring it then, Junpei." Akihiko gestures him to continue.

"Okay so... One word. Wardrobechange." He smiled as he said that.

"That's pretty stupid and it's two words, Stupei." Yukari looked at him with blank eyes full of disappointment.

"Iori, this isn't the time for mindless jokes." Mitsuru looked unsatisfied.

"No! What I mean is... There are those reversible jackets, right? Like one is fur and the other is waterproof." Junpei says as I start catching on.

"And?" Akihiko started getting interested.

"We can use clothes like those for the change of climate and weather. Furthermore, it wouldn't be much of a hassle! Très bien, Iori!" Mitsuru sparkled just like Junpei.

"Does Junpei give ideas like this every so often now, Yukari-chan?" I whisper to her.

"Unbelievable, right? He does it a lot that I get scared sometimes." She sighs.

"Umm... Mitsuru-san...?" I mutter her name.

"What is the matter, Arisato?" She turns to my direction.

"I have a gut feeling that we have to ascend the tower faster... I don't think we have much time left. You don't really have... it's just... intuition, I guess." I look down as I say it.

"Then we just better hurry it up with all our power, right?" Junpei grins as he shows off his arms. I think he's trying to show off muscles which he doesn't have.

Somehow, he made me feel relieved.

After the topic was concluded, we talked about our daily lives until late. We then started getting our equipment ready as we waited for night to fall.

"Is everything prepared?" Mitsuru looked at us for inspection as we waited in front of Gekkoukan High School; where Tartarus ascends during the dark hour.

We all gave a thumbs up to prove that we were all set.

I checked my digital watch for the time.

5 seconds left.

1 second to breathe.

Another second to recheck my weapon.

The 3rd second to glance at everyone.

4th, I prepare myself and look in front.

The last, I feel the rumble of the ground as the frightful tower emerges to the heavens.

"Let's proceed in." Mitsuru signals us and we head inside Tartarus.

"There can only be four people. Arisato will be the leader. I believe that you have the capabilities. You also have a reason to be here, don't you. That's why, I leave you to choose the three other members." Mitsuru nodded to me and I did the same as I chose my members carefully.

"Umm... I believe Mitsuru-san plays a big role when we go there since there was that Shadow Mitsuru-san last night. Then Ken-kun and Koro-chan. They're a pair and they can never be separated. They also sync with each other's movements. Then the last one is... Aragaki-senpai!" I chuckle.

"What?! What about me?! I want to see Mitsuru-san in a swimsuit too!" Junpei complained out loud.

"Execution is what you're asking for. Isn't it, Iori?" Mitsuru looked at Junpei with an ice cold glare. All he could manage to do was hide behind Aigis's back.

"Junpei-san, you have an increased heart rate, sweaty palms, and heavy breathing. Is this what humans come to know as love? You have feelings for Mitsuru-san?" Aigis looks at Junpei and Mitsuru.

"That's…not right." Aragaki says. "More like the opposite-Wait, where did you get THAT idea from?"

Aigis tilts her head. "It was in another fan fiction that I've read in Yukari-san's phone. The title is "Egoistic Love Story". It is a story about a prideful man who came to fall in love with a farm girl. He does not believe that he has fallen in love with-"

"HEY, HEY HEY! I told you to stop snooping around with my phone!" Yuakri's cheeks blushed red.

"Hah…" Yukari just sighs. "It doesn't really matter anymore when everyone already knows…"

"Hey, hey, Yukari-chan! Can I read some of the fanfictions that you're reading too?!" I grinned and somehow, it felt like a small weight was lifted from Yukari's shoulders.

"Sure. It's not a problem." She nods and smiles.

"You DO remember that we're in the labyrinth with only limited time, do you not?" Looks like we angered Mitsuru…

We all agreed quietly and didn't waste any more time to get into the labyrinth.

"Fuuka-chan, how's this area?" I ask as we enter the first floor.

"I don't sense any presence of the Shadows on this floor so you can go ahead." She says and we proceed upward.

The place is dark, damp... and it's just a normal labyrinth.

"Fuuka-chan, the situation please?" We all check around as we wait for her answer.

"I don't sense any presences on this floor either. Let me check for a minute... Huh?! There aren't any Shadows from this floor upwards!" We were all surprised by what she said.

"This could be a trap. Let's proceed with caution." Mitsuru tells us and we all nod as we go up the floors in fast but careful manners.

"It's been 18 floors already. This isn't normal." I say, feeling exhausted.

"These clothes didn't do anything either! Dang, Stupei! You are a complete epic fail!" I shout, hoping he could hear my whines.

"You do have a point." She mutters then glares at a certain direction.

"Everyone. Quiet." She hisses at us.

"Can you feel the wind passing through this entire floor?" She whispers.

"That's... weird. Tartarus isn't supposed to have wind inside. It's supposed to be just an artificial coldness...?" I mutter.

"Quickly! Find where the wind is emanating from!" She shouts and at her order, we all disperse and look around.

"Hey, I feel something here!" Aragaki shouts and we all huddle around to see.

"This is... a dead end...?" I mutter.

"No, this wall's color is different from the others." Ken eyes the wall carefully.

"All right! Leave it to me to break it down!" I ready my naginata and I swiftly and forcefully break the wall down.

"Took you long enough, Messiah." I heard a familiar voice when I broke the wall down.

What we saw was a wide balcony. The dark sky stretched over and what we could see was a bright green moon. The wind was unbelievably cold too. My eyes slowly fixate on the two figures sitting on the veranda.

"That is... Shadow Mitsuru-san and Ken-kun..." I look at them in anger.

"Geez. It took you longer than we expected you to." The teenage shadow Ken sighed.

Wait, so there's no Shadow Koro-chan...?

"Why are you doing this?!" I shout at them.

"Hoh... Straight to the point, aren't you?" Shadow Mitsuru let out a taunting sigh.

"It's to exterminate you from this world for eternity, of course!" Shadow Ken laughed maniacally.

"What?!" In surprise, I didn't know what to say.

Exterminate... That's what Bunkichi, Mitsuko, and Aragaki(when he was asleep) said before. Is it because I'm from another universe...?

"Enough, chitchat. Are we gonna fight or not? I've been itching to try my fists." Akihiko cracked his neck and hopped lightly to position himself.

"Impatient? Well then senpai, please go easy on me." Shadow Ken held up his lance.

"Present me with all of your power!" Shadow Mitsuru grinned and started to cast bufu. Luckily, I managed to stop her.

"Persona, Alice! Time to die!" I summon my Persona and a horde of card soldiers reign down from above and attack Mitsuru and Ken.

"Artemisia, Bufu!" Mitsuru sets her target on Shadow Ken.

"Too slow." Shadow Ken grins and hits Mitsuru at the back.

"Mitsuru-san!" I shout.

"I'm fine! It is no big deal." She swiftly stands up again to fight.

"Ken-kun, dia on Mitsuru-san now!" I order him as Aragaki, Akihiko and I take care of Shadow Ken first.

"This guy's fast!" Akihiko was getting tired while Shadow Ken effortlessly avoided his attacks.

Not good. Like this, Akihiko's energy will just deplete.

What... What can I do...

T-That's it! Fire and Dark! If they're the same as Mitsuru and Ken then that's they're weaknesses!

Okay... Let's do this...

"Mudoon!" I shout and aim at shadow Ken.

Please work...

"Aauuughh!" He cried in agony. He withstood it! At the very least, I managed to make him stunned. Now for Shadow Mitsuru.

"Aragaki-senpai, fire!" He nodded at me and summoned his persona.

"Agidyne!" He shouted and it was a direct hit!

"Now's our chance to finish them off!" Ken shouted and we went on an all out attack.

The battle was a victory and I took a look at Shadow Ken who melted into black goo. What was out of the ordinary was when the black goo dissolved, there was a Featherman keychain.

"What's something like this doing here?" I crouch down and pick it up.

"Did you honestly think that you could defeat me that easily?" Mitsuru laughed and started to run towards my direction. I don't think that I was gonna make it so I just shut my eyes.

"Minako-san!" Ken shouted and ran to my direction.

"Ken-kun!" I hold onto his shoulder and pleaded: "Barrier!"

It reflected her attack and Aragaki gave one more Agidyne and finished her off. She then melted into black goo and dissolved.

"Ken-kun, are you all right?!" I took a look at his body to see if there were any wounds.

"M-Minako-san...?" He looked at me with wide eyes.

"What is it, Ken-kun? Furthermore, are you all right?" I ask.

"I- I remember... Y-you're supposed to be dead!" He slid down slowly to catch himself feeling so surprised.

"Uh... We already established that." I mutter, laughing.

"It's not. Right, Aragaki-san?" Ken looked at Aragaki and the both nodded.

"He's right." Aragaki answered nonchalantly.

"I was supposed to be dead... Wait, you remember me?! You know who I am?!" I was in a state of shock.

"Not really a bright person, are you?" Aragaki laughed.

"Oh put a sock in it. I didn't get it until just now. It isn't really that big of a deal, is it?" I jokingly said.

"Aragaki-san, what happened a few years ago... I-I'm sorry!" Ken bowed deeply and Aragaki pat his head.

"It's alright. I'm alive now, aren't I?" He chuckled.

"Huh? Mitsuru-san, it seems that the next floor is locked. We can't ascend for now..." Fuuka said what she saw in her persona.

"Well then, we shouldn't stick around here for too long. It's dangerous. Let's all head back down and talk it over there." Mitsuru cut in.

We all followed her orders and went back down. Before I went down, I found a bottle of manicure... I picked it up anyway since maybe I'd find a use for it.

"Nice job!" Junpei grinned.

"Good work!" Yukari smiled.

"Mmm." We all nodded in agreement.

"So, Ken-kun, what can you remember from me?" I smiled at him.

"Well... I remember how we always go out to get dinner on Tuesday and Thursday nights." He muttered.

"Yeah... That's right!" I raise my voice and hug him.

"I missed you, Ken-kun!" I jumped up and down as I hugged him.

"M-M-M-M-Minako-san!" He stuttered and blushed bright red.

"What's wrong?" I stopped and he stepped back.

"I-I-I-I-I!" He stuttered yet again.

"Oh~ I get it, Amada boooy~"Junpei sneered at him and in return, Ken blushed brighter.

"What is it, Ken-kun?"

"Nothing..." He looked away.

"I assume you are all tired. Let's head home and we'll talk this out tomorrow. We'll meet at the usual rendezvous point at the same time." We all nodded at Mitsuru's suggestion and head back.

Like what happened before, only Ken, Koro-chan, and I stayed at the dorm while the others said that they have something to do...? Even though Junpei was the only one who said that.

When the three of us got home, Ken sat on the sofa with Koro-chan on his lap as I flopped against the couch opposite where they were.

"Still... I'm honestly glad that you remember me..." my eyes start to get watery and my voice starts breaking.

"I'm sorry... I couldn't..." He muttered and tried to find the right words.

"It's all right." I turned my body to the side so I could see Ken.

"It's super duuuuper all right." I grin as a rivulet of tears trickle down from my eyes to my cheeks.

"M-Minako-san!" He raised his voice so suddenly that my eyes widened.

"What is it?" I ask in an unsure manner.

He looked at me in the eyes and blushed red.

"I-I-I... I..." He continued to repeat the word 'I' several times. I wonder what's gotten into him.

"Well, what is it? I'm really sorry for crying. I worried you right?" I smile at him.

"N-no! Wait, yes but! I... I finally fulfilled my promise..." He looked away.

"Promise...? Huh? Oooh! That promise! You promised me that you'd become a man... I said that to you on the first day I came to this world too." I grin. "Congrats, Ken-kun! I'm really proud of you. Even though you hate milk and whatnot, you still chose your health. I'm happy."

"Minako...-san..." He sighed in relief. "Thank you..."

"No...problem?" Why did he thank me?

"Anyway, I gotta go to sleep. I'm beat!" I stand upright and wave at the both of them.

"Good night, Ken-kun, Koro-chan!" I wave at them as I go up the stairs.

"Good night, Minako-san." He waved back.

"Arf!" Koro-chan barked happily.

I go to my room and sit on the chair. I put the bottle of manicure and persimmon fruit on the table in front of me.

...Huh?

I look over my clothes and feel through my pockets.

I don't have the Featherman key chain. Where'd it go? Did I drop it when Shadow Mitsuru attacked me?

Weird.

Or could it be...?

-To be continued-

Aaaand done! I have been having troubles with this chapter for being too short so I put some unnecessary things here and there. At long last, this chapter has been done! I'm so proud(?) of this! (I think...)

This is totes the start of something that's gonna bloom. And we all know what's about to blooom~ (It's loveee...)

Man, I feel like it'd be even funnier if I could put swear words from time to time but I'm not really much of a cussing person so yeah.

Anyway, guys! Have you seen like, the trailer for Persona 5! It's so awesome! I mean-The gameplay is just like Catherine and you can sneak and stuff! You can also change into your persona and omg, I am a huge sucker for Phantom Thieves!

But why does it feel as though, they just inserted people like Tuxedo Mask, Enoshima Junko, the Watanuki guy from InuXBokuSS, and a cat... Somehow, blondie and delinquent guy's designs weren't well thought out? Somehow, they don't exactly give the unique kinda feeling, ya know?

ANYWAY, if you have any questions or want to talk to me then feel free to!

As always, please give it a star and a comment. I appreciate it!

Happy Reading~


	7. Marriage Glooms (Extra One)

"Fuuka-chan, hello? Hello?!" I shout.

"Minako-Bzzt-You're-bzzt-ing up! That place is-bzzt!" There was something wrong with the signal so I couldn't hear Fuuka's voice properly.

"Fuuka-chan?! Shoot, I lost her." I couldn't hear anything anymore on the other end.

It's another dark hour in Tartarus. I felt like something was calling me here so I came to get a look with Fuuka.

I didn't bother calling the others since it would be a bother and I'm 150% sure I could handle myself.

Megidoloan, Maragidyne, Bufudyne, Ziodyne, Skull Cracker, awesome weapon, perfect armor, healing items,etc. I'm well prepared.

"Geez, it's so dark here... Where are the stairs..." I fumble around the 136th floor.

I decided to go on an adventure by myself to see if I could also find a way back to my own world but it didn't happen.

"Yeesh, when is this tower going to eeend?!" I whine.

I squint my eyes to see if there are stairs or at least some kinda treasure around.

"There!" I found the stairs which lead to the next floor. I didn't waste any time to get on it.

Somehow, the design of these stairs are different from usual.

When I got up, it was a bit dim but I could still see.

There were numerous doors lined up in two columns. There were five doors on the left and five on the right.

I walked in the middle to see if there were any stairs but it was just a dead end.

So that means one of these doors can help me leave this floor?

"Fuuka-chan, can you hear me? I've been transported to a place with no stairs nor the thingy that can help me go back to the first floor." I report but there was no answer from the other side.

I gotta hurry this up or else the hour will soon end.

I quickly open the door and see light emanating from inside.

Due to the sudden brightness, my eyes had gone blank. My vision deteriorated a little but I stood in wait to get it back.

"Aah... My eyes hurt...Hmm?" I open my eyes little by little and see my room.

"What the-?! Huh?" I try to enter the room but it doesn't let me. Almost as if it's just a painting on the wall.

"Theo..." I hear a voice from inside the room. Isn't that... me?

I see myself holding a man in my arms. She whispers into his ear and then she looks at me.

"W-Uuh..." I started feeling woozy when I stared at her. It's like she was sucking out my energy. When she grinned, I felt so weak that I fainted.

Mmm...

My head is throbbing.

What the...

I felt myself on cold hard wood. I stood up and see myself inside a bedroom.

Did I fall off the bed or something?

I stand up and I put a fist onto my palm and a 'ding' sound came to my head.

"Ah. It was dream. Welp, guess it's back to the tv to buy worthless stuff." I plopped on my bed and opened the tv.

"Mother, it's time to come down for dinner..." a small girl with white hair and blue clothes stood in front of the door of my room. Her hair is tied just like mine and her eyes are red! Albino?!

"What?! Mother?! No, no, no. I'm still too young! I'm like 17! And you look like you're 10! Ain't no way I gave birth at a young age! Premarital sex is bad!" I grew confused at what I began saying.

"Aah... I figured that I would encounter this someday. Mother, listen. This is the outcome of your choices from the past." The girl's voice was high-pitched but showed no leniency.

"So to make it short, this is just the future. Gosh, there isn't even a need to prolong it and make it so difficult." I sighed.

"Why do people like you have that tendency to be so deep and stuff. I mean like, people would understand better if most people weren't deep. No offense though but it gets on my nerves sometimes!" I complain.

"Yeah... Anyway, mother. You will be encountering even more situations such as this when you open the other doors. If you are wondering on how you can get back to the labyrinth, the answer is simple. You just have to solve the problems of each and every space. Considering that if there are no problems, you just have to wait and live a happy life here for some time." The girl explains, a smile still plastered on her face.

"Umm... yeah, okay... I guess so?" I wonder endlessly. "But then what kinda future is this?"

"Your future with your spouse." She answers bluntly. "I am your daughter, Celestia."

"My daughter, Celestia. That's a weird name." I giggle.

"I find it quite elegant. I love it. You named me after all, mother." She giggled.

"I did? Never thought that I was this deep of a person. Huh? My look is different. Just what am I wearing? A pink flight attendant uniform?!" I stand up and look at my clothes. My hair got longer too.

So this place also affects my body...

"Yes. You said that you wanted this occupation. Well then, mother... Let us head down. Father is waiting." She headed down and I followed her.

"Master Minako, good morning." I saw Theo in front of the stove of a kitchen.

So this is... our house... Mine and Theo's...

Theo's?!

"Theo!" I shout at him.

"Yes?! What is the matter?!" He raised his voice, looking worried.

"N-nothing..." I look down and stare at Celestia.

"Ah... You are... Master Minako from the past. It is nice to see you again." He utters.

"T-that's right. But wait, we're like husband and wife, right? Let's do this again. Don't call me Master. It's Minako and I'll call you Theo. Or... do you want darling instead?" Wait, what am I saying?! I look at Celestia.

She catches me staring and whispers: "As you stay here longer, your feelings of love will be altered to apt the situation. Do not worry. It is only being stimulated. If you harbored intimate feelings to the other before, then your feelings of love will just come back. When you leave, you will regain your original feelings. Fyi, only your feelings of love will change. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Aah... I see... This is a freaking real life otome game then!" I squeal. "I go to different routes then if I make the right choices then I get the super happy ending!"

"Umm...?" Celestia was at a loss for words but just nodded.

"Yes. In your sense, I believe it is easier to explain that way." She smiled.

"Okay, if it's like that then it's okay!" I made a fist pump.

Just pretend that I'm playing a game where I have a husband and we experience a married life kind of thingy.

"Let's eat together then." Theo smiled and carried the pot over to the dining table.

"I am quite proud of my cooking this time, M-M-Mina...k-ko..." Theo looked a little flushed.

Thump!

What the... Love! That's the beat of love!

Somehow, even I felt flushed and my voice became softer. "D-darling..." I try to say.

"We can't do this after all!" I shouted right after I said 'darling'.

"W-well then, Celestia, let us eat." Theo smiles and leads both Celestia and I to our chairs.

"I've never eaten Theo's cooking before! I'm so excited! Open it, open it!" I nudge Theo to open the lid and he grinned as he slowly opened the pot's lid.

The smell slowly emanated through the whole room and it was absolutely awful! I focus my eyes on what's inside the pot and I see something pink bubbling inside a violet soup looking thing.

Isn't this worse than the Mystery Food X Yu-kun told me about?!

Mystery Food X Final Form...

"Hey, so can I keep this as a like uhh... snack when I'm hungry? I mean like, this...curry looks so appetizing that it'd be a waste to eat it." I smiled at Theo awkwardly.

"O-of course! I'm honored, Minako! To think that you'd like my special curry!" Theo smiled.

So it WAS curry?!

"Celestia, are you-?! Celestia fainted because of the smell!" Instant knockout...

What the hell was in that curry.

Theo and I were panicked but decided to bring her to her room.

I sat beside her as she slept peacefully.

"Mother..." She gripped onto my shirt with a painful look on her face.

"She's been worried about your future right now." Theo was beside the door looking awfully worried.

"My...future...? You mean, my future in the real world?" I couldn't understand.

" is the reason why you are here. To soothe Celestia." Theo walked towards us and sat beside me.

"Minako... When you were our guest from... The time the Fall was occurring, I deeply apologize for not staying by your side. No, apologies aren't even enough. I..." Theo was showing extreme hurt and guilt.

"You had your duties in the Velvet Room, right? I understand... But you really shouldn't have left me in my room sleeping after we did 'that'... You could've at least waited for me to wake up." I pouted.

Theo's face suddenly grew a steaming red. "T-that was, umm! I terribly apologize about that matter. If only I were more of a man before then that event shouldn't have happened..." Theo started to look glum.

I hit his back hard and grinned widely. "It's fine already, alright?! So don't let it get you down!"

He looked dumbfounded at first but he smiled warmly. "Yes!"

"Mmm..." Celestia groaned and sat up up while rubbing her eyes.

"Awake?" I smiled.

"Mother? Did I faint again?" She twisted her neck from left to right gently.

"'Again'? What do you mean 'again'? Do you mean you faint constantly because of Theo's food?" I started fuming.

"Y-yes..." She thought back on her words and started to get worried.

"Theo!" I shouted and stood up.

"The hell have you been feeding the girl?! C'mon, I'm gonna teach you how to properly make food. The Spartan way!" I shout as I pull Theo's ear and head to the kitchen.

"I-I am honored to but Celestia and I have our duties to the Velvet Room..." he sputtered.

"I don't care if you and her have-What. She's a denizen of the Velvet Room?" I stopped.

"Y-yes...?" It looks as if Theo had said something wrong.

"Oh my gawd! I'm so prooouuud of you!" I glomp Celestia who was following us the whole time.

"Oh, but don't fall for some guy there, all right? It's for your own good. If there was ever a chance that you'd fall in love with one of your guests though, I would support you the whole way. It's your life after all and I'll always be there for you." I smile.

I don't want her to suffer just like what happened between me and Theo. Not again.

"M-mother..." Tears started to flow out of Celestia's eyes.

"Wha-I'm sorry! I'm so very sorry for making you cry!" I hug her.

"I-it's not that..." She sniffed. "Thank you, mother..." She wiped the tears off of her face.

"You're welcome, dear. Now, I'm gonna teach Theo a piece of my chef mind..." My eyes glint and I give off a 'Be prepared' aura to Theo.

We spent the whole day cooking, playing and laughing.

"Did you enjoy your day today, Celestia?" I rubbed her head and she shined.

"Yes, mother. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you." She bowed and hugged me.

"As long as you're happy..." I pat her back lightly.

"It looks like it's time for you to go." Theo showed me to a door that wasn't here before. The door was shining and was urging me to open it.

I released Celestia to head to the door but she hugged me tightly.

"Please don't go..." She whimpered.

I turned towards her and squat down. "Don't worry. I'll always be with you no matter when. It's not goodbye forever..." I smiled warmly and so did she.

We interchanged goodbyes and I opened the door. The last I saw was their smiling faces.

The brightness of the door was too strong that I had to close my eyes. I felt myself being enveloped by the light and when it faded from my view, I slowly opened my eyes.

This place is... a police station?

I felt my feelings changing. My immense feelings for Theo disappeared...? Somehow, it feels sad yet my heart is being enveloped in a new feeling of love.

It feels naive and innocent. It's... fun.

"Minako, sorry to keep you waiting. I got held up with work." An adult Akihiko ran towards me and grinned.

"Akihiko..." I mumbled as I stared at his features.

"What is it? It's like you saw a ghost."

"N-nothing and it's alright. It's not like I waited long." I smiled.

So this time it's Akihiko huh... He was my boyfriend until the last fight with Nyx before...

Yosh, I can do this!

-  
>I saw these pictures on Tumblr about P3 couples having kids and I absolutely wanted to make their stories! I'm really sorry but I just couldn't stop my feelings. Sorry not sorry.<p>

Also, don't worry. This is actually part of the main story, shown in the near future when she met Yu and arrived at an already high floor.

If you guys want me to stop it, it's fine with me. :) Just tell me.

I kept Theo's short since I needed someone to explain Minako's situation and I don't have much info on Theo so yeah...

Anywho, how'd you guys like this extra chapter? :3

Thanks for your supports and as always, please leave a favorite and a comment. Thank you and...

Happy Reading~


	8. Comrades!

"Hey." Pharos smiles at me.

"Hey...?" I greeted in confusion.

When did I fall asleep? On the chair, right? Umm... What was I doing?

"You have lost one of the most important items..." He looks to the side with a pitiful face.

"Most important items? What is that?" I stand up.

"The shadows that you've defeated... Did you notice something?" He looked back at me.

As always, we walk into a certain direction amidst the darkness. "They're all... people?" I ponder.

He smiles at me and asks another question. "Did you notice anything else besides that?"

"Shadows of my friends?" I answer again and his smile becomes bigger.

"AnyTHING else?" He emphasizes the 'thing' in his question.

"Umm... They have the same powers and weaknesses as my friends, right?!" I grin widely and so did he.

"Haaaah..." Pharos sighs.

"Oh yeah, I got the persimmon fruit so what do I do with it?" I tell him how I got it and how it was pretty difficult and funny at the same time.

"That's it." Pharos stares at me; almost as if he was able to teach a kindergartener what two times ten is.

"What?" I stare back at him.

"Ugh..." He bit his lip and put his palm on his cheek. "What am I supposed to do with you..." He mutters to himself.

Is he insulting me?

"Soo...yeaaah...? Anyway, Pharos... Tartarus is locked... What can I do to unlock the next floors? And you said to hurry, didn't you? So, like, why is it locked?"

"Only time will tell." His answer was simple but misleading.

"Umm...so you mean to say that... It won't open until like time passes or something?"

"Yes, that's right."

"You could've just said it in that way though." I pouted.

"Hey, so like-This place... can it be changed? Like it's just black everyday..." I look around and touch the air around me.

I can't even feel the ground. No wall, no ceiling... Like we're just floating.

Pharos's eyes widen a little bit. "Aah... This place is designed to fit your current consciousness."

"So... my mind is blank? Even though I have a lot of problems and stuff?" I somehow get irritated.

"You think that you're having numerous problems but in truth, you are already aware that there is nothing else that you can do, thus making you feel empty. You're just trying to fill your mind to keep in the fact that you're nothing in here." I started getting furious at Pharos's response.

"OR. You have thought of too much things and try to solve them all at once that leads to the chaos of the mind. That is why your cognizance is blank." It looks like he tries to find an excuse when he noticed my sullen expression.

"So when I feel happy, this place will be different?" I ask in curiosity.

"Well, yes but it wouldn't be stable-"

"So like, I'll play a sim dating game before going to bed and then this place will be like a reverse harem paradise! Oh my gosh, I'm a genius!" I proudly praise myself and Pharos sighs helplessly in response.

While I was thinking of a plan to revise my reverse harem wonderland, I see that the person in front of me is not anymore Pharos but Ryoji.

"Ryoji-kun, why'd you change?" I ask.

Ryoji's response to me was kind of a surprise to me.

He held my hand, bowed lightly and kissed the back of my palm.

"Ryoji-kun, what are you doing?" Is he trying to act something out of a play?

"Why would you want another man when I'm right here in front of you?" He looks at me with half-lidded eyes. As if he's tempting me... or something?

"U-umm..." For some reason, I felt conscious all of a sudden.

"A-anyway..." I looks around and see a light arising at the far side.

"I need to get going now!" I let go of his grip and run away.

As I run, I look back at him. There was a smile showing a sense of satisfaction on his face as he waved goodbye.

I'm not really all that stupid though... I've actually noticed that... when I defeated those human Shadows, they leave a memory that signifies them behind. That persimmon fruit symbolized Bunkichi and Mitsuko in memory of their son. That expensive manicure bottle was a symbol of Mitsuru who favors that and the Featherman keychain is what Ken loves. It feels like something will turn out wrong if I make Ryoji realize that I actually know something...It's ike a hint, maybe.

Then the light engulfs me and I wake up with a horrible backache.

"Oh my...gaaaawd!" I scream as I stand up. Everything hurts all over! My neck, my shoulders...

"Minako-san, what's wrong?" Ken was knocking at my door.

"Oh, n-nothing!" I shout back.

"Are you sure? You were screaming quite loudly that Koromaru and I heard you all the way downstairs." Ken's voice resonated on the other side of the door.

"Y-yeah! I'm fine. Oh, we still have to report to Mitsuru-san, right? I'll be down in a minute." I said.

"Okay. You don't need to hurry since It's still early.10 am. We'll be waiting downstairs." I could hear Ken's footsteps fading away.

"Haah...Oww-oww-oww..." every move I make consists of pain. I need a massage... How bad was my sleeping posture last night...

Ah, the manicure bottle and persimmon fruit... they're just placed on the table right where I left them last night.

I took the two items and his them in my drawer.

I still don't have a definite clue on what these are for but the Featherman keychain gives me a certain clue. I can't be sure yet.

Pharos seems to disagree with what happened to the Featherman keychain.

That's why I can't be sure if what I'll do with these items will be good or bad. I should avoid them for a while until I figure out what it really is.

"Haaah... Anyway, New day, New things!" I started the day off with a smile and prepared myself. Then I headed down and greeted Ken and Koro-chan good morning.

"Good morning, Minako-san." Ken smiled.

"Arf!" Koro-chan jumped up and licked my cheek.

"Hahahahaha! Morning, again." I pet Koro-chan.

"Minako-san, I made breakfast today. Would you like to eat some?" Ken guided me to the table at my "Okay."

On the cloth table, there were numerous cuisines lined up.

"I figured you might be extra hungry since we didn't get to eat last night so I made you lots." He smiled.

"Ken-kun... You can totally be a house husband now! I mean,the foods' all sparkly and stuff! I never knew that within just 2-3 years, you could become an excellent cook!" I grinned.

"T-thank you. You're flattering me." He scratches the back of his head and Koro-chan sat beside the table in expectation.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Ken went there and asked who it was.

"It's Narukami Yu. May I ask for Minako Arisato-san?" When I heard that unexpected voice, I ran to the door like there was no tomorrow and gently pushed Ken aside.

"Narukami-san?!" I shouted. In response, he just smiled.

"Minako-san, good morning. I apologize for intruding on you. Ken-san too." Yu smiled at the both us.

"And Koromaru-san." Yu added as Koro-chan went by Ken and my side.

"Wait... Ken-kun/Minako-san, you know Narukami-san?!" Ken and I looked at each other, utterly shocked.

"Umm... Anyway... I have something important to..." Yu's voice was too soft so Ken and I didn't hear him while we were talking.

"So wait, where did you know Narukami-san?" Ken and I were happily chatting while a new figure neared towards us.

"Excuse me." A white haired woman said.

"I apologize for intruding on your jolly conversation but there is something extremely important that I must inform you." Margaret was standing beside Yu and was looking at us with a very intimidating expression which made us shut up.

"Umm... So why are we having tea?" Ken, Yu, Margaret and I were drinking tea in the living room. She told us that the entrance was an inappropriate place to chat so we headed to the living room.

"We are waiting for the others. I've already contacted them so they will be arriving at any moment." Margaret took a sip of her tea.

"Ah, I see." I also took a sip of tea.

A few minutes later, there was a huge bang on the door and it broke down showing numerous figures.

An orange haired girl. "Yu-kun, are you okay?!"

A cute twin-tailed brunette girl. "Senpai?! Where are the harassers?!"

A delinquent looking boy. "Hey, senpai, where are they?! I'm gonna beat the shit outta them!"

An... average looking boy. "Yu, bro, what happened?! Where are those dipshits?!"

"Guys!" Yu stands up. "Margaret, what did you tell them?"

"Everyone, we shouldn't break down properties that belong to other people. It is only valid when we have confirmed the situation as something dangerous." A blue haired boy came in, looking pretty calm compared to the others.

The brunette girl protested. "But, Naoto-kun! Yu-senpai might be in danger! We can't just-Hold on. Are you guys drinking tea?"

"Hmm? Yeah. Care to join us?" I smiled at them, unaffected.

"Also, please pay the proper prices for the front door. We'll give you the bill later." Ken took a look at his book which was on the table beside him.

"Arf!" Koro-chan ran to the unidentified people in glee.

"Margaret! You said that Yu-kun got harassed, tried to fight but got hit by a truck, managed to make it through but tripped on a cat and got kidnapped then held captive and leaving a ransom note that said 'PSP x3 & Gods Eater Burst x2'!" The orange haired girl screamed.

"Oh, thank you." A black haired girl sat beside me as I offered her tea.

"Of course." I replied.

"Yukiko!" The orange girl shouted.

"Calm down, Chie. They don't seem like bad people. Besides, aren't Ken-san and Koromaru-san here?"

"Huh? Come to think of it..." The orange haired girl replied blankly. Her name is Chie, I bet.

Then the black haired one must be Yukiko.

"She lied." The blue haired boy sighed.

"EEEHH?!" Yu's friends looked surprised.

"Are you shitting me right now?" The orange haired boy slid down slowly, disappointed.

"Well, well, let's have tea first. Oh, I'm Minako, by the way." I smiled and offered them tea as they sat down on the living room couches.

"Minako-san, these people are Chie, Yukiko, Yosuke, Naoto, Rise and Kanji." Yu introduced them to me one by one.

"Introductions aside, let us proceed to our main topic, shall we?" Margaret put down her cup on the coffee table. "I won't prolong this any longer so I will be cutting this short. Our red haired guest must die."

"What...? I should die...?" I'm the only red haired girl here and considering the circumstances.

"That's absurd!" Mitsuru came in with a shout along with the others.

"Mitsuru-san! Why are you guys here?" I look at them in confusion.

"You three were running late so we decided to see why." Mitsuru glanced at Yu's friends and they break into a sweat.

Chie stutters a bit then gathers the courage to only say: "H-hello, Mitsuru-san...N-nice day..."

Mitsuru greets Chie as well and looks at the broken pieces of construction materials. "We'll have to bill you for the door you broke." She said.

Chie's eyes widen. "Wha-How'd you-"

"You are standing on top of the rubble, genius." Yosuke laughs.

Before Chie knew what was going on, everybody already left the pile of rubble, leaving only Chie.

"Yosuke!" Chie shouts.

"Hey, what's the death thing you were talking about?" Aragaki glared at Margaret. Or... looked? You can't really tell if Aragaki's normal or angry since both expressions look exactly the same.

"Like I said, if our guest does not die... then the 'Dusk of the Devourer' will appear and engulf the world." Margaret puts great emphasis on the 'Dusk of the Devourer'

"Are you implying that the world will end?!" Mitsuru starts getting panicked.

"What or who is the 'Devourer' though?" I ask with composure. I have to calm down before I start jumping to conclusions.

"That I cannot answer but it is someone that you are well informed of.." Margaret says with regret.

"Wait, do you mean THIS world? Not the parallel world or another universe along with it?" Aragaki tries to ask as much questions as he can.

"I cannot answer that either. I apologize." Margaret's facial expression never ceases to change at all.

Minato's world will die... I... I can't allow that. He also saved this world, right? I can't let all his efforts go to waste.

How about everyone-

Suddenly, everybody grew silent. They're honestly thinking about killing me, aren't they? They must be scared since they know that the world ending and they're only salvation is my death. Also, it's too much of a shock for Mitsuru and the others knowing that they'll meet the same fate again...

Why is it always my faul-

"No! I wouldn't let Minako-san die even if the world will end! She did nothing wrong and she deserves more than this! I can't lose her again!"

Just then, that speech gave me so much- so, so, sooo much hope.

Ken-kun... Thank you... you gave me hope just then...

"That's right! There should be another way, isn't there?!" I raise my voice and stand up with a smile on my face full of determination.

"Well yes, there is. I must warn you that it will be a long and strenuous journey ahead. It must not be taken light heartedly. Is this what you desire despite the difficulties you may encounter?" Margaret gives us a blank stare and we all smile.

"Of course!" We say in chorus. Koro-chan just barked though.

Margat then smiles. "Alright then. All in all, there are three things that you must do. Your first mission will be to reach the top of the tower. The second will be to make your decision. The last will be to accept it."

"That's all? Sounds easy enough!" The delinquent-I mean, Kanji grinned widely.

"Keep your words in your tongue or I'll cut the fucking thing off, Kanji." Yosuke sighs.

"What?! Why?!" Kanji started fuming over Yosuke.

"Hey, Kanji, do you remember that tall and creepy tower that Margaret showed us before?" Yukiko smiled at Kanji.

Kanji doesn't appear to get it and just looks confused. "Yeah, what about it?"

"That's the tower that we have to go to." Naoto sighs.

"What?! But that thing's gonna take forever to reach! It's hella tall!" Kanji complains and Yosuke intrudes. "That's why I told you to keep your tongue where it is and as a bonus, we only have one hour every midnight to explore that place."

"Is there anything else that you can tell us?" Aragaki questions.

Margaret thinks for a moment. "There isn't any more but if you have any questions, I would be more than welcome to answer the. Of course, there are also some questions that I will be unable to answer."

"Alright. Then let's start tonight." Yu smiles.

Mitsuru looks at Yu and puts on a sour face. "What? No, you can't."

"Why not?!" Chie stomps her foot.

"This is not of major importance for now. We can handle this much by ourselves." With a soft brush, Mitsuru managed to say such extreme words to Yu's friends.

"Mitsuru-san, I'm sorry if I'm being rude here but the world is ending and we know how to prevent it. Why should we stay here and do nothing when we can save the world?" Maori politely says yet somehow, it had a feeling of anxiety.

"Mitsuru-san, we won't take 'No' for an answer on this one." Yu added.

"Please!" Yu's friends all pleaded.

Mitsuru gives them a sharp look and then sighs. "All right."

With just two words, everyone grinned and jumped in joy.

"We'll be starting tonight. Will that be all right with all of you?" Everyone then nodded at Mitsuru's question.

"Okay then. I look forward to working with all of you." Mitsuru stood upright.

"Come to think of it, where's master?" Chie looks around and runs to the dining table.

"Master!" Chie shouts.

"Oh? Hey." Akihiko smiles at her and I follow them.

"Why did you call him master?" I ask Chie.

"Also, what are you doing in here... Ah!" I spot that all the dishes Ken cooked up had been wiped clean.

"D-d-d-did-" in my confusion, I see that there was a grain of rice at the corner of Akihiko's mouth.

"H-how could you... I've never even eaten Ken-kun's cooking and then you came here and just devoured everything?!" I wail.

"B-but it was just there-" Akihiko tries to explain.

"Aki..." There was a menacing Aragaki behind Akihiko.

"Geh, Shinji, I can explain-"

"What need is there to explain when there is obvious proof right here?!" Aragaki starts shouting.

"Ah! That's it! Aragaki-senpai, you are really awesome at cooking, right? I missed your cooking so much! It was sooo good! C'mon, cook for us this time. Pretty please~" I bat my eyelashes at Aragaki and he smiles a little bit.

"Alright, alright. I got it. Just this time, got it?" He pats my head and I went to where everyone is.

"You better watch out! Aragaki-senpai makes the greatest dishes in the world-Oww!" As I was praising Aragaki, a huge piece of garlic hit my head.

"Quiet!" Aragaki hisses and everyone laughs.

"Oh, come on, Ken-kun-Huh? Ken-kun, what's wrong? You look frustrated." I look at Ken worriedly. He was biting his lower lip until it turned white.

"If only he weren't here..." Ken was mumbling to himself.

"Hey!" I shake Ken and his gaze focuses on me.

"What? Ah... Minako-san..."

"Did something happen? Is there something bothering you?" I rub his shoulders to try and calm him, though he only have me a slight shake of his head in return.

"Nothing's wrong. I'll help in cooking too." With those words, Ken just walked past me.

What's gotten into him...?

~To be continued~

Sorry, this is shorter compared to normal, right? Trust me, I count. Or rather, 'word count' does but ya'll get what I mean.

Also, some things are gonna get even less descriptive because of the great increase of characters! Sorry in advance!

Anywho, thank you guys for commenting on my story. It suddenly gave me a boost of motivation! Especially the one who said that there's a part of him/her that wants to kill off Shinji. I'm not trying to be mean nor that's what I want to do, alright? Just… well, yeah. That's it.

I'll probably have late updates? As usual but I'll never drop the story, alright? Rest assured. ;3

Gosh, I'm bored too. Can anyone talk to me about interesting facts about P3 and P4? I might use them for the story. Also, does anyone know about the P5 protagonist? I want to find out his personality and stuff if that's okay.

That's all I have for this chapter and as always,

Happy Reading~ :D


	9. One More Goodbye

"Did we really have to go to Tartarus on the very first night?!This place is creeepy... Yosuke, go in front!" Chie urges Yosuke forward.

"Why are you always pickin' on me?!" Yosuke resists but gave up halfway and said:"Oh, I'm soo not gonna treat you to some Fillet Mignon!"

"What floor are we?" Aragaki looks around in search for shadows.

"Umm... It's... The 38th floor." Fuuka says.

"C-can we just... Let's just hurry up. This place is giving me the creeps." Chie doesn't dare look anywhere but to Yosuke's back.

"Chie-chan? Is it okay to call you that?" Before I asked my main question, I wanted to be sure that I wasn't being rude.

"Yeah. It's fine. Even just Chie is fine." Chie nods.

"I see. Well then, are you afraid of ghosts?" I didn't hesitate to ask. I was curious.

"Wh-what?! Of course not! This place is just too creepy!" She exclaims.

"Are you sure? Tartarus was always like this. It was like, waaaay creepier before though." I grin wickedly.

"W-w-w-what?!" Chie stutters in fear and I thought of an idea.

"Yeah. Before, there were huge purple faces on every wall. There was also blood spewing out from the corners here and there. Now it's just... grayish walls and floors. There will be times that the next floor will completely change then go back to normal on the next." I tap my index finger on my cheek over and over, feeling amused by Chie's fear.

"Hey, don't say that. You're scaring her." Just then, a huge fist lightly pats my head. It was Aragaki.

"You mean, what she just said aren't true, right?!" A ray of hope started filling up Chie.

"Not exactly... She didn't really lie about anything." Aragaki played around with his maroon cloth cap.

"Then it was really true?!" Goosebumps started to tickle Chie's arms.

"Yeah, I can't really say that that isn't true. A-aah..." Aragaki looked like he started feeling pain.

"Senpai? What's wrong? Is your head hurting?" I pat Aragaki's back and he just brushes it off and says that he's fine.

"Are you sure? We can always go back if you can't handle it." I grab hold of him again and he still brushes it off with another "I'm fine."

"Okay... but why are we just four people?! Shouldn't we have at least five or six members exploring?" I complain out loud.

"We did draw lots since there were a lot of us. 4 people at the entrance and 4 people exploring. Minako-chan is excluded since she's the leader." Fuuka giggles.

"Chie-chan, it's okay, I'm here!" I give Chie a thumb up and she just sighs.

"Exter...mi...nate..." A deep voice was mumbling.

"Hmm? What is it, Aragaki-senpai? I didn't hear you." I walked forward without looking back.

"Uurgh... No, it's nothing."

"Hmm? If you say so. Anyway, let's go!" I skipped all the way to an empty floor.

"This place's format is just a big spacious square... Fuuka-chan, what floor are we and can you run a scan?" I ask. Based on past experiences and playing games, this is likely where minor boss battles occur.

"You are on the... 4 o'clock named hour? Something is tampering with my scanning. What I can only get is 4 o'clock name. I think it has a meaning... but I can't quite get it. Naoto-kun, could you try and figure it out?" Fuuka talks to Naoto and I overhear him say "Certainly. I'll give it a shot."

"Okay. We'll just see the stairs-what?" I already saw the stairs at the end but there's a barrier preventing me from passing.

"There's a barrier here." I place my hands against the invisible wall and make movements resembling a mime.

"Awesome right, Mina-kun?" Someone was beside me and mimicking my movements.

"J-Junpei?! What are you doing here?!"

"Nothin'? I was bored. Mina-kun.. that would be Minako's nickname if you were ever a boy, ain't that right?" Junpei's eyes started glowing a golden color.

I took two, three steps back.

"You're a Shadow!" I ready my naginata and he laughs.

"That's not exactly right. Would you really kill the real person that you hung out with?" Junpei grinned.

"What does that even mean?" Shinjiro stands in front of me as if protecting me.

"Oh, please. Aragaki-san, you know it more than anyone. Don't try and deny it when it's going to devour you. Anyway, Minacchi, to make it short, I'm the Junpei that you know. The Junpei which you met along with the Shadow Operatives is Minato's. Doesn't it suck?" Junpei laughs pitifully.

"What... You're..." I can't make any words properly come out.

"Hey, hey. Did you know? Bunkichi-jii and Mitsuko baa-chan, right? Remember how they knew who you were and then forgot about you after you killed them? That's because you KILLED the Bunkichi-jii and Mitsuko baa-chan that you KNEW. Along with Amada Boy and Kirijo-senpai. Now, you must be wondering... How's that possible? That's for the detective girl and you to find out." Junpei laughs hysterically at himself, opposite of what we look like.

"Detective girl... You mean Naoto-kun?" Chie says and I pause.

"Naoto-kun's a girl?!" I exclaim. I then, heard a small laugh coming from Junpei.

"This is just too great. I mean, you thought that the people you met are the people you know despite them saying that they didn't know you. Then you see people who look exactly like the people you know but then you judge them and kill them. Isn't it hilarious?! Watch out though, Minacchi. Someone's gonna betray you tonight." He laughs.

"No more talkin'. I don't give a shit if you're fake or not. Let's hurry up and finish this. Chie's been hitting my back for exercise and it's pissing me off!" Yosuke plays around with his dual short daggers. He looks kind of like a ninja with those weapons and that position.

"Oh? Bring it, Naruto." Junpei taunts Yosuke and it surprisingly worked.

"Who are you calling Naruto?! Besides, it already ended!" Yosuke gets mad. "Naruto became Hokage, that's it!"

I then whack Yosuke by the back.

"I haven't finished that yet!" and then I got mad.

"Wait, you read Naruto?" He asked and I whacked him again.

"Oww, oww, oww! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Yosuke whimpers.

"Can you guys do that later when we finish this fight?" Aragaki cracks his neck.

"You got it!" I grin.

"Why the hell's your attitude towards me totally different with him?!" Yosuke complains yet again and I show him a sharp glare.

"Right, right. Sorry." Yosuke just shuts up.

"Alright! I'm in for whooping some ass!" Chie kicks the air.

"Spunky Legs..." I mumble and force myself not to laugh. "Ahem, let's do this." We all stand in our fighting positions and start our battle.

"Junpei-kun's weakness is the same as the real one! It appears that he's not that strong of an enemy so you can defeat him!" Fuuka informs.

"Roger." We all say In chorus.

Immediately, there were clashing and throwing of weapons. Hits and misses. Critical damage on both sides but we all stood straight and gave our best.

"Yosh! I managed to make him go down! Let's do this!" Chie grins and we go for an all-out-attack.

"What the-Aagh!" Something attacked me and I hit the wall. The same thing also happened to Chie and Yosuke.

"What... What was that..." I try to stand up and once I regain my vision, I see Aragaki standing beside Junpei. His eyes also glowing a golden color.

"A... Aragaki-senpai... What happened...? Aagh!" Aragaki came towards me and grabbed hold of my neck.

"Oh? Would you look at that. I guess this is how far Aragaki-san can suppress that world's rejection for him." Junpei starts laughing and was then followed by Aragaki.

"I-It hurts... Can't...breathe..." I try to release myself from his grip and I hear him say familiar words.

"Exterminate... The fake... You're just like us so stop..." He mumbles. I could see his eyes being humored by my pain.

"Senpai... Sto-Agh! Please stop it..." Crap, I'm gonna faint...

"Let her go!" Chie goes to kick Aragaki but he grabbed her ankle and threw her back.

Luckily, I was able to get myself loose while he was busy. Then I ran to Chie's side.

I was coughing and gasping for air but I needed to make sure Chie was okay.

I crouched down beside her and rub her back gently. "Chie-chan, are you alright?" I try to support her.

"I-I'm fine... I won't go down this easi...ly." Pain suddenly struck Chie's legs.

"Your feet are sprained. Lay down. I'll try to figure out a way." I reassure her.

Okay, let's see. I can't hurt Aragaki.. Yosuke probably can't handle two people at the same time while I help Chie. What do I do...

"Minako, in front!" Chie shouts.

I was a second too late before I realized that Aragaki was in front of us. Our of instinct, I shield Chie and close my eyes, readying myself for the impact.

Unexpectedly, I didn't feel any pain. I open my eyes slowly and see Aragaki stopping his arm with his other hand.

"Run... Get away from here." Aragaki said like he was in torture.

"N-No, I can't. I'm not going to lose you twice." I stand up.

"I can't stand losing you twice either... I might kill you by my own hands. Just go." His words turn into whispers.

"No. No way." My throat started to feel like something was stuck and making my eyes water.

"Just go!" He shouts and I flinch.

I shake my head furiously while fighting back my tears.

I know these kinds of situations. If I go... He's going to...

Aragaki wasn't able to hold it any longer and raised his weapon.

"Minako, run!" Chie and Yosuke shouts at me but I remain affixed to the ground.

If I'm going to die... Might as well be by...

Suddenly, I heard the sound of weapons clashing.

"Ken-kun?! What are you doing here?! You should be downstairs!" Ken was stopping Aragaki and Koro-chan was helping Yosuke defeat Junpei.

"I heard what was happening. Seriously, Minako-san. It's not worth it to just die in this kind of place. Go and take Chie-san. Koromaru, Hanamura-san and I will take care of this. Trust me." Ken flashes me a small smile.

"I... No... I can't. Aragaki-senpai is..."

"This isn't the time!" Ken shouts. "Chie-san is badly injured. Please take her now. We'll do our best."

Ken can't hold Aragaki for any longer. It is best for us to go. Even if I don't want to, I HAVE to.

I let Chie take support of my body and we carefully but swiftly head back.

"Don't die." I remind Ken and he nods. That was the last thing that I was able to see on that floor.

Not long after, we were able to head back down. Mitsuru and Fuuka helped me assist Chie.

"Mitsuru-san, please take care of Chie-chan." I say as I run to the stairs.

"Wait!" Naoto stops me. "Don't go there."

"What?! Why?!" I reply back.

"Amada-san didn't tell you, did he?" Naoto looked straight at me.

"What do you mean?" I slowly walked back down.

"The 4 o'clock named hour." Naoto looks down.

"Shinjiro's Death Hour." Naoto mumbles.

*Note because I know a lot of people won't get that:  
>Shinjiro, right? We take out his 'Shi' from 'Shinjiro'. So we now have the word:'Shi'(-silent i) So now, 'Shi' is equal to the 'Name'.. And then his 'Shi' is homonymic to time'hour' (时, pronunciation is also 'shi' with the silent i) in Chinese. So now we have the 'o'clock Named Hour'. Now, the number 4 in Chinese is (四) whose pronounciation is 'si'(-also silent i). Okay, so 'si' is homonymic to the word '死'(si) which means death. And if we put them all together in a revised manner, it would be 'Shinjiro's Death Hour'. It can also still lead to that conclusion even if we use Japanese since Japanese language was originally derived from Chinese. If you want the Japanese explanation which is slightly different, just inform me. Although, there won't be much differences to the Chinese explanation.*

"What? Are you saying that..." I was at a loss for words.

"His death is inevitable." Naoto shakes her head. "Amada-san didn't want you to know or see. That's why..."

"Hey." Yosuke and Koro-chan warped here.

"What happened?!" I grab his shoulders and he looks at me with pitiful eyes. "Junpei has been defeated. Ken-san said that he wanted to take care of Aragaki-san and forced us to go down."

"No, no, no!" I shake my head and run upstairs, disregarding the shouts for me to stop.

If I run now without stopping, I might still make it.

I- I can make it. I can-

I couldn't.

I finally reached the place where I desperately wanted to go to.

The only life I saw was one person in the middle, crouching down with two weapons and a pocket watch in each hand.

I slowly walk towards him. My legs shaking furiously because of over exertion.

I looked down on him and he looked up at me.

There were tears on his face.

With no warning, my legs suddenly gave away and I succumb to the tiredness and lay on the floor.

I was in front of him.

"Why... Why did you... Why are you..." I couldn't speak. Tears were slowly erupting from my eyes and my throat was starting to dry up.

I slap him but he doesn't react. I slap him over and over again yet he never reacts.

"Why are you crying?! Tell me! Why?!" I ask over and over. Even though I knew that he wouldn't answer.

"I didn't want you to die nor did I want you to taint your hands... It seems like he also didn't want me to taint my hands either..." Ken laughs a pitiful laugh.

"I wasn't able to kill him. Even though he wanted me to... I just... I couldn't." He starts crying even more.

"He just... took my weapon and plunged it straight into his heart... He just... smiled at me and handed me this watch telling me that I should give it to you... then he just melted and disintegrated into dust..." he cries out.

"I'm...sorry. I'm so... sorry." He says over and over again.

I didn't talk and he just kept apologizing.

He slowly handed me the pocket watch and I run my fingers on it and take it.

Its edges are worn out and my tears started to flow out even harder.

I open the watch and see a piece of paper inside.

"This is…" I mumble and unravel it.

'I had fun. I already knew this a long time ago. I'm sorry for being selfish. I wanted to spend time with you as long as I could. Even if I weren't getting manipulated by Tartarus, I would still die anytime soon. The Persona suppressant pills were also taking a toll on my body and I didn't have much to live anyway. There's something wrong with the date too. I don't know how it could be possible but a short haired girl in blue told me that everyone that's related to Tartarus and or Shadows was warped to the future. We are still supposed to be in the year 2014, not 2015. I don't know how but I'll try to find out. I'll probably be dead by the time you read this. I know you'll cry a lot but don't worry. I'll always be right beside you and everyone. Tell Aki that I'm sorry for me. Please continue my research on how we were moved to the future. I feel like there's a huge secret behind it. I'm counting on you so you better not die on me, alright? As much as I would hate saying this, I don't want to see you anytime soon so keep being alive, alright? I don't blame anyone so don't let anyone feel any guilt, alright? See you.'

And that was the night I lost someone important to me for the second time and the worst thing is that I can't blame anyone for it. Not even Ken. Not even me nor Aragaki. Not because Aragaki told me but because I found no one at fault to blame.

~To be continued~

Okay, so like... S'up. Sorry to ruin the mood here. I ain't really that good at angsty stuff so I apologize for that. Yes, I know. It's a super early update this time. I got excited typing this chapter and I couldn't help it! So in exchange for this super-fast update, give me at least two weeks for the next chapter. Exams are coming up next Friday until next next Thursday. I have Chinese and English exams after all. X3

Also, yes. This chapter was inevitable. I already plotted this scene out ever since the start. Like I said before, I already got everything set straight. I just want to prolong it. ;3

Also, Amaya Verascola-san, I ain't mad. XD Your idea was right on and you didn't really steal my idea. I was just happy that someone thought that it would be a little okay to kill Shinjiro. It also isn't magic when Shinjiro was revived. ;) Hint, hint~

Anyway, how'd ya guys liked this story? Please give a little comment and a favorite here or follow or something, I dunno 'bout you... but I'm feeling twenty-two ooh~ Ahem. Sorry.

How'd I get the 'Shinjiro's Death Hour' or '4 o'clock Named Hour'? We were studying vocabulary words in Chinese class. Yes, I have Chinese blood. I'm just half Chinese though. Anyway, we were talking about this vocabulary word: 谐音 which means 'homonymic' which lead us to another lesson about numbers being homonymic with words just like 521999 which is 五二一九九九 that's pronounced as 'wu er yi jiu jiu jiu' and is homonymic to 我爱你久久久 which is pronounced as 'wo ai ni jiu jiu jiu' which directly translates as 'I love you for so long, long, long.' And so I was like "I could use that!" Hence that idea. Now if you guys want to say I love you to someone, just say 521 or 521999(if you love them THAT much). You're welcome. ;3

If you guys have any questions or want to talk, I'd be more than happy to entertain you.

As always...

Happy Reading~


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